


Music To the Heart

by genderqueer_turtle



Series: Music to the Heart AU [1]
Category: Sanders Sides
Genre: Depression, High School AU, M/M, Parental Remile, Remus is a little bitch, Slow Burn, a tiny bit of underage drinking, analogical - Freeform, and some sexual stuff, band au, but nothing explicit, cursing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:34:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 72,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24549202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/genderqueer_turtle/pseuds/genderqueer_turtle
Summary: Virgil Black joins his brother, Janus' band. At their first gig, they meet a person who can change the way Virgil sees the world and pushes Virgil to become a more open, trusting person.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & The Dragon Witch, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & The Dragon Witch, Creativity | Roman & Logic | Logan & Morality | Patton, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & The Dragon Witch, Deceit | Janus Sanders & The Dragon Witch, Deceit | Janus Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Dot/Larry (Cartoon Therapy), Dr. Emile Picani/Sleep | Remy Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders
Series: Music to the Heart AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2061411
Comments: 429
Kudos: 223





	1. The Others

“Come on Virgil, get over yourself and play us a good tune for once,” Remus said from his seat at his drums. The drummer twirled his drumsticks in between his fingers, looking both annoyed and bored.

“I’m trying, but I keep thinking about what it will be like up on that stage when we perform.” Virgil said, shrinking into himself and physically cringing. “I’m glad that Janus got us the gig, but still, all those people watching and judging us. I don’t know if I can handle it.” He clutched his bass tight to his chest. 

“Stop worrying Virgil. You were the one who agreed to be our bassist. If you didn’t want to do this, you shouldn’t have agreed. We both know that you can play, we’ve heard you when you’re by yourself in your room. Now, give me something to work with,” Janus said, setting up the microphone. 

“How about you pretend that we aren’t here? Just close your eyes and imagine yourself in your room. Play as if you’re playing for you and you alone.” Janus walked over to Virgil and guided Virgil’s hands over to the strings of the bass. 

Virgil did as he was told, closing his eyes and letting his imagination flow. He wasn’t used to pretending, so he just pulled from a memory of him playing by himself and recreated it, plucking at the strings at first, then playing a single chord. Before he knew it, he was playing the entire bass part of Panic! At the Disco’s “Don’t Threaten Me with a Good Time”, just as he had done a million times before. 

Once he had finished the song, Virgil opened his eyes and met Janus’ gaze. Janus’ jaw had dropped a few inches.

“If only you could play like that for us, Virge. Then we’d really have a band,” Remus taunted. Janus sighed, annoyed by his best friend’s behavior. 

“Leave my little brother alone. We all have our weak points and quirks. You aren’t short of those, remember?” Janus asked Remus. Remus giggled.

“And I’m not ashamed of my quirks.” Remus stuck out his tongue at Janus, who muttered something unintelligible under his breath. Virgil just stood there while the two argued, holding his bass. He was used to Janus and Remus’ constant bickering, for two best friends, they did it a lot. But they always seemed fine afterwards, like nothing had ever happened and the two had never said anything cruel or mean to the other. It was quite a strange relationship to Virgil, though he didn’t know much about having friends. The person he was closest to was his brother. He didn’t have any friends at school, he mostly kept to himself.

Finally, the two friends stopped fighting and refocused on their music. Janus had Virgil close his eyes and imagine playing by himself as they rehearsed. As darkness fell outside, Remus heard his ride, his twin brother, outside honking the horn of the car rather loudly, signaling for him to hurry up. Remus grabbed his drumsticks and backpack, then he and Janus did what Virgil could only assume was their best friend's handshake. Before Virgil could get out of the way, Remus tackled him and messed his hair up, pushing Virgil’s bangs out of his face and making his hair messier than it already was. Then, he was out the door before Virgil could complain. 

Janus and Virgil packed up the gear, setting the equipment near the door so that it would be ready to pack in the car tomorrow for the gig. 

“By the way Virge,” Janus said. “Remus and I chose a name for the band.”

“I don’t get a say in it?” Virgil asked.

“You refused to be part of the brainstorming meetings, instead you just sulk in your room with your headphones on. So we picked a name without you. It’s more than fair.” Virgil sighed, knowing that his brother was right.

“First of all, I don’t  _ sulk.” _

__

“Yes you do. Don’t deny it, you’re wasting your breath.” 

“Second of all,” Virgil said, ignoring his brother. “At least tell me it was a good name. I couldn’t deal with having a bad band name, being on stage is already enough for me.”

“You don’t trust Remus and me to think up the perfect name?” Janus asked, faking horror. Virgil just glared at Janus, which made his older brother laugh a little. 

“Fine, the band’s new name is ‘The Others’. Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?” 

Virgil nodded. It wasn’t a terrible name. He actually kinda liked it a little bit, though he’d never let Janus or Remus know that. 

The two brothers finished packing up and headed to their own bedrooms. Virgil looked at the full body mirror that rested against his wall, gathering dust. Virgil only used it when dyeing his hair, or applying eyeliner on the days he felt like it. He hated looking at his face. But tonight, for some reason, he just felt like sitting there, staring at his reflection. Maybe he was hoping to find something, such as confidence. But he just sat on the floor, staring. 

Virgil took note of his hair, which was growing long and the purple dye in it was fading. He decided to dye it again tonight so that he would go out tomorrow with his usual vibrant hair. His hair was the most color part about him. His eyes were a dark brown, not warranting any special attention. Virgil himself was rather short, reaching 5 feet 5 inches. He was probably the smallest kid in his class of juniors. 

“Tomorrow, I do something I would never dream of doing in my wildest fantasies. I listen to music, I don’t play. How did I let Janus rope me into this?” Virgil asked his reflection out loud. He didn’t expect it to answer, but he wished someone in the universe could help him get through this. 

* * *

The next morning, Virgil woke up early enough to apply a small layer of eyeliner. Janus had taught him how to apply his own makeup a while ago, Janus loved stage makeup and knew a bunch of tricks and tips. Virgil was thankful that Remus had agreed to be Janus’ guinea pig for whenever Janus wanted to try a new style or product, or else Virgil might be forced into it. 

Remus appeared in Virgil’s doorway as he finished applying the eyeliner.

“Morning emo!” Remus said, snaking on a candy bar. 

“How are you so cheerful this early in the morning?” Virgil said, walking past Remus and into the kitchen to get an energy drink from his stash. The can made a small popping noise that was music to Virgil’s tired brain as he opened it. Virgil had hardly gotten any sleep the night before, as he was too full of anxiety about their performance. 

“It’s Saturday, I’m always up early on Saturdays. No school for me to skip.” Remus finished off the candy bar and threw the wrapper at Virgil’s head playfully. Virgil picked the garbage and threw it in the trash. Then he flipped Remus off, who just laughed.

Janus entered the kitchen a few seconds later and made himself a mug of coffee. Even though he had just woken up, Janus was a sight to behold, and in a good way. His light brown hair, which looked almost shiny, was neatly combed and brushed into place. His green eyes shimmered in the light. His shirt, a mellow yellow color, matched his socks. Janus was all about things matching. 

“Good morning Jan!” Remus said, moving his arm to rest across his best friend’s shoulders. 

Remus was practically the exact opposite of Janus. His outfits were wild, with a bright green crop top and blacker than night skinny jeans. But he always seemed to make it work. His hair was neater than you’d expect from him, combed, though not too neat. Only one strip of hair had been dyed, a vivid grey strip in his bangs. His eyes, a bright blue color, had a wild look to them, like he had drunken several gallons of strong energy drink. 

“Good morning Remus. Ready for today? Our first gig, it’s quite exciting.” Janus took a sip of his coffee, though Virgil doubted he needed the boost. Janus turned to face his younger brother and wish him a good morning.

“Is that what you’re wearing to the gig?” Janus asked, eyeing Virgil’s hoodie and ripped jeans. Virgil almost always wore the same outfit. His jacket was basically his comfort object, the thing that kept him stable and calm when he was near an anxiety attack. 

“Is there a problem with it?” Virgil asked, taking a long sip of his energy drink. Janus shook his head and finished up his coffee. 

“There’s nothing wrong with it I guess.” Virgil knew Janus would have preferred that he changed into something that made him look less like a Hot Topic rat, but Virgil knew that he wouldn’t push the subject. Janus knew better than to argue with Virgil about the jacket. 

After Janus had finished his coffee and Virgil finished his energy drink, the three band mates packed up their equipment and hit the road. Virgil had made sure to sneak a few extra energy drinks into his bag, in case Janus wouldn’t stop to buy any. 

“We’re off to our gig!” Remus yelled out the car window. Virgil sighed from the back seat. ‘The Others’ were off, ready for their first performance. 


	2. The Quiet Bassist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The concert and the after party. Where Logan meets Virgil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some warnings: underage drinking (Remus), sexual talk (Remus again), and cursing (Remus and Virgil).

Logan Berry walked behind his two best friends as they entered the venue. He pushed his glasses, which framed his hazel eyes, up his nose as he looked down at his phone. Brushing his dark brown hair out of his face, he sighed. He didn’t want to be at this concert, but Patton and Roman, his two friends, insisted that he come with them. Apparently Roman’s brother, Remus, was the drummer for one of the bands performing tonight and Patton insisted that they go to the performance to support him. 

Roman Prince turned around to face Logan. Roman smiled his signature pristine white smile, his blue eyes shining in the dim lights of the venue. His ginger hair demanded attention, just like the rest of Roman. Even his freckles looked regal. His outfit completed the effect, as it was shiny and eye catching, a white button down with red details and gold buttons. 

Logan looked very different from his friend, as he was wearing a black polo shirt and a dark blue bow tie, his usual outfit. He didn’t feel the need to change for a concert, unlike Roman, who had different outfits for different situations. Though Roman’s entire wardrobe fit a single color scheme. The red, white, and gold covered almost everything Roman owned. 

Logan’s other friend, Patton Morgan, turned around to face Logan as well. Patton was even more different to Logan than Roman was. Logan often thought that if someone were to combine a cinnamon roll with the cutest puppy in the world, that wouldn’t even come close to how wholesome and sweet Patton was. Even Patton’s physical appearance screamed wholesome, with his sandy blond hair, which complemented his tan complexion and shimmering grey eyes. Patton’s outfit was one you would only ever find on him, with his light blue t-shirt and grey cardigan. Patton’s grey slip on shoes completed the look. 

Roman sighed when he saw that Logan was not bubbling with excitement. 

“Look glasses, I know you aren’t happy about being dragged along to this concert, you think I want to support my gremlin of a brother? But at least try to enjoy it a little bit.” Roman pulled the phone from Logan’s hands and handed it to Patton for safe keeping. Patton shot Logan an apologetic look, but did not give the phone back to its owner.

They chatted for a few minutes in their reserved spots near the stage. Because Remus was in one of the bands, Roman had been able to pull a few strings and get them good tickets. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m proud to introduce the first band for tonight’s local band concert. This band is brand new, and this is they’re debut performance, so please give it up for ‘The Others’!” An unknown voice said over the speaker. Logan turned to face the stage, watching as three people walked up onto it. Logan recognized the drummer, who was Roman’s brother Remus, the one they came to support. The other two people he did not know, but he recognized them from school. He even shared a few classes with the shorter one with purple hair. Logan couldn’t remember his name though. 

The taller of the two unidentifiable band members walked up to the mic. “Hello, I'm Janus Black. We’re ‘The Others’ and we hope you enjoy our music.” He picked up his electric guitar and counted to three. Then the band started playing. 

Logan had to admit, while it wasn’t his style of music, it wasn’t bad music either. They were actually rather good at playing together, and Logan couldn’t help but tap his foot to the beat of the drums. The song itself was completely original, written by the band members. With each note, Logan could tell how much effort and care was put into the writing process. He didn’t know much about writing music, but he did know that it wasn't exactly easy. 

About half way through the song, Logan focused on the tiny bassist. Logan wished he could remember the boy’s name, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t think of it. Logan noticed something about this bass player that he had never seen before. The boy had his eyes squeezed shut, as if blocking out his surroundings. Logan wondered if everything was okay, but the boy just kept playing, his purple bangs shifting to cover the top half of his face. 

Once they had finished the song, the lead singer and guitarist, Janus, took a moment to introduce his band members. Remus waved to the crowd, drumsticks in hand, when Janus introduced him. 

“And on the bass is my brother, Virgil Black!” Janus said. Virgil took a moment to push his bangs out of his face before giving a timid wave to the crowd. Then Janus introduced their next song, another completely original piece of music and began tuning his guitar. As he did so, he made the short walk over to his brother and whispered something in his ear. Logan noticed Virgil give a small nod and then Janus started playing, followed by Virgil and Remus. 

The band played a few more songs before they stopped all together.

“Thank you so much for coming here and listening to us play!” Janus said into the mic. “Once again, we’re ‘The Others’ and we’ll be at the afterparty tonight!” Logan knew this last part was meant specifically for talent scouts who were here, looking for bands to sign contracts with. 

“Oh an after party!” Patton said. “We should go! Can we go?” 

“Technically, everyone who got VIP tickets or passes is invited to the after party,” Roman said. “And I got us VIP tickets, so I don’t see why not.” Logan knew he would not be able to convince his two friends to go home instead of spending their Saturday evening at a party with a bunch of music geeks, so he agreed to go with them. 

The rest of the bands were a blur of noise to Logan. He had paid attention to the band they came to support, he saw no reason why he should pay attention to the other bands. Especially since half of them weren’t even that good or original. He had to hand it to ‘The Others’, they were the best act that night. 

Finally, the concert was over and everybody was either leaving or headed to the after party.

“At least tell me that there is gonna be food there,” Logan said. “We haven’t eaten since lunch and you know it’s better to eat three meals a day.” Roman and Patton were used to Logan’s talks about healthy meals and things like that. 

They entered the party and Roman was thrown to the ground the moment they walked through the doors by a flying Remus.

“Hello baby brother!” Remus said, practically laying on Roman, who was sprawled on the floor. 

“We’re twins Remus,” Roman said, pushing his brother off.

“Ah yes, but you forget. I came out first, making me the older one!” Remus smiled. Roman mumbled something under his breath that sounded to Logan like a curse word, but he couldn’t be sure. 

Janus Black, the lead singer of ‘The Others’ walked over to Remus and the group. “Hello Roman. I really hope Remus isn’t being too much of a pain.” Logan wondered why Janus talked as if he were Remus’ brother and not Roman, but he stayed silent as Roman talked to the lead singer. 

After a few minutes of listening to the chit-chat, Logan went off on his own to search for food. He found the buffet and as he was making his plate, he noticed Janus’ little brother, the bassist, Virgil, sitting in a corner of the room. His hoodie had been zipped up and his headphones placed over his ears. The boy was looking down at his phone, all alone where he sat.

Logan looked for a place to sit, but the only quiet place was with Virgil, so he made his way over there.

“Mind if I sit here?” Logan asked, standing over Virgil.

Virgil pulled one side of his headphones off so that he could hear, “huh? Oh sure, whatever.” He reluctantly pulled his headphones all the way off, probably so that he didn’t seem rude. Virgil picked up an energy drink can from where it was sitting by his feet, and took a sip. Logan knew that they weren’t serving energy drinks, so Virgil must have sneaked it into the party. 

“So, you’re Virgil Black then. Not enjoying the party?” Logan asked, struggling to make the situation less awkward.

“How did you know my name?” 

“Your brother announced it while you were playing, remember?” 

Virgil blushed a little, “oh, I forgot.” 

“Anyways, not enjoying the party? I thought musicians loved attention and the chance to cause trouble.” 

Virgil shrugged. “I don’t really like attention. Parties are too loud and too many people for my taste. What about you? Don’t you have friends that you’re here with or something?” 

Logan straightened his glasses. “I’m not big on parties either. People tend to get drunk and do dumb things. My friends are over there.” He pointed to Roman and Patton. Roman was in the middle of arm wrestling his brother, while Patton cheered him on. Janus also stood over there, watching. 

“Ah.” Virgil went back to look at his phone, shrinking into his hoodie even more than he already was. 

Logan shifted in his seat, understanding that Virgil wasn’t comfortable with talking. He watched Roman lose to his brother, who seemed to be enjoying it quite a bit. 

Suddenly, Janus walked over to where Virgil and Logan were sitting and pulled the phone out of his brother’s hands. 

“Hey!” Virgil said. Janus held it over his head, out of his much shorter brother’s reach.

“Can you actually try to have fun? I’m not going to stay up late to drive us home and you waste my energy by playing some game on your phone all evening. Make a friend, sing and dance, for god’s sake Virgil, get drunk a little. That’s what normal teenagers do at parties.” 

“You know that I don’t do those things. Those are Remus’ type of things, not mine. I prefer to be left alone. You know I don’t do well with people.” Logan tried to pretend that he wasn’t listening. He knew it was rude, but they were literally talking right next to him, it’s not like he could turn off his ability to hear. 

“Can I just sit here until it’s time to go?” Janus sighed and handed his brother back his phone, a sign of admitting defeat. 

Suddenly, Logan heard shouting from the other side of the room. Without having to look, he recognized Roman’s voice.

“Remus, you’re drunk! How did you get drunk so quickly? We’ve only been here for half an hour!” Roman shouted. The three people in the corner turned and Janus ran over to stop Remus from whatever he was doing. 

“Virgil, looks like you’re getting what you want! We’re going home now!” Janus shouted from across the room, Remus’ arm slung over his shoulder. 

“I'm going to smash the Hulk!” Remus said, leaning on Janus.

“Sure you are. Keep dreaming dude,” Janus said, shifting his body weight to hold Remus up.

“I can take him. He’s my brother and we live in the same house after all.” Roman pulled Remus away from Janus. Janus let him take Remus, who was in the middle of a giggling fit. 

Logan walked over to help Roman, But Patton had beaten him to the job.

“Logan, I can’t drive a drunk Remus home and both you and Patton. Do you think you can ask Janus for a ride, I’ll know he’ll say yes.” Roman struggled with his brother as he talked to Logan.

Janus nodded. “Virgil and I can take you home, it’s no problem to us.” 

“As long as I get home, I don’t see a problem with that,” Logan said. 

As they loaded Remus in the car, Virgil came outside to meet them. Just before he got in the car, Remus made a big show of seeing Virgil and yelling a big “fuck you” to him. Virgil replied with a middle finger, which sent Remus into a fit of giggles in his drunken state. 

Once Roman and driven off with Remus and Patton in the car, Virgil turned to his brother. “May we please go home now?” 

Janus turned to Logan. “Do you want to stay? Virgil will just complain all night either way, so if you are still interested in the party, I’m down for staying.”

“If I’m being honest, I was never interested in the party, so going home sounds nice. Thank you for driving me, by the way.” 

“It’s no problem,” Janus said. “You’re probably a lot quieter than Remus, so this could be a pleasant car ride. 

The three of them got into the car, Virgil climbing into the backseat while Logan sat up front with Janus. As they drove down the highway, letting the sounds of the highway and the radio wash over them in a sort of calming sense. Once, Logan looked back at Virgil, whose headphones had been put back on. Virgil looked asleep, but Logan guessed that he was actually just relaxing while listening to his music. There, in a jacket that was way too big for him, with his purple hair and eyeliner, and his headphone blasting music that Logan couldn’t here, Virgil had a sort of adorable quality that Logan had never noticed before. Logan didn’t know why he was thinking this, or where these thoughts were even coming from. But he didn’t get upset at himself for thinking about them, instead he sank down into his seat and relaxed, smiling as he thought about his conversation with Virgil and how when Monday rolled around, he’d try to make more of an effort to become friends with the quiet bassist he shared classes with. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey everybody!  
> Thank you for reading chapter two! I know I didn't put any notes in chapter 1, i just didn't know what to say.  
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! This was a lot of fun to write, with Remus in particular. (I'm a Remus stan, so I wanted to make him as much as a bastard and a bitch as much as possible.) I also slipped in a smashing the hulk joke, because i just love that part so much. (pls don't judge me)  
> I originally wanted to write some song lyrics, but song writing is not something I'm good at. So sorry about that.  
> Thank you so much for reading and I hope that you continue reading!  
> Turtle :)


	3. More than Your Average Monday Blues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil struggles to get up Monday morning and Janus finds the best person he can to get Virgil up and out of bed in time for school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mention of underage drinking (Remus), depression (Virgil), medical prescriptions (Virgil)

Sunday passed quietly for Virgil, as he spent most of it in his room. He heard Remus stop by, but didn’t come out to witness his brother’s best friend struggle with a hangover. 

On monday, Virgil woke up and looked at his clock, he had about forty-five minutes before he would have to leave for school. But Virgil didn’t feel like getting out of bed and getting ready. He didn’t really feel like doing anything except lay in bed. He couldn’t even be bothered to grab his headphones and listen to his music. 

About ten minutes of laying in bed, unmoving, Virgil heard a knock at his bedroom door. He knew exactly who it was before the door opened. Janus walked into the room, fully dressed and ready for school. 

“You up little brother? You have to hurry and get ready if I’m going to drive you and pick up Remus.” He walked over to Virgil’s bed and sat down on the side.

“You feel okay?” Virgil shrugged his shoulders, barely putting any effort in the movement so that it was barely a tremble. Janus placed the back of his hand on Virgil’s forehead, checking for a fever, but Virgil did not feel warm at all. 

“Did you take your meds last night?” Janus asked. Another tiny shrug from Virgil. Janus got up and walked over to Virgil’s desk. He looked at the messy desk, covered in books and papers and sticky notes. Virgil hadn’t cleaned his room like he was supposed to, something Virgil only did when he was depressed. 

Janus rummaged for a second and then pulled out a container of antidepressants. Janus had convinced his mom to get Virgil one of those containers where it was split up into days of the weeks, so that Virgil could easily keep track of when he took his medication. Janus opened up the ‘Sunday’ door and wasn’t surprised to see the medication sitting there, forgotten. 

“How could you forget Virgil? You know how important these medications are.” Janus pulled out his phone and dialed a number. “I can’t deal with you like this by myself, I’m calling backup.” Virgil hated how Janus always talked about Virgil when he was depressed as if he was some kind of task to be taken care of, but he didn’t have the energy to put up a fight.

Virgil heard bits and pieces of Janus’ side of the conversation on the phone. From what he understood, Janus was going to quickly go pick up Remus, and then come back to get Virgil up and ready.

Virgil lay in bed, dreading to see Remus. About ten minutes after Janus left, he heard the front door open, signaling that Janus was back. He shut his eyes, pretending to sleep and hoping Janus and Remus would give up. He heard the footsteps come down the hallway and enter his room.

“Help me get him up. When he’s like this, he’s like a sack of potatoes. I do my best to take care of them, but it’s hard to get him motivated,” Janus said. Virgil groaned, his way of telling his brother to leave him alone. 

“I know how to help. Maybe go get some breakfast started for him, I’ll take care of this. I’ve done this before with my mom,” a voice said, which didn’t belong to Remus. Virgil opened his eyes, curious who his brother had gotten to help. He was greeted with the boy from Saturday night, Logan Berry. Why would Janus get him? He had always relied on Remus in situations like this? Virgil felt like he was close to gathering the energy to ask his brother where Remus was, but Janus had left to go whip up a quick breakfast.

“Hey, Virgil, I need you to get up.” Logan came over to the bed and gently propped up Virgil with his pillows.

“Where’s Remus?” Virgil whispered. Not that he would have preferred Remus, in fact, that would probably be worse. But Virgil was just a little curious. “Why are you here?” 

“Remus is busy with a hangover. Apparently he went to some party last night and got drunk out of his mind, worse than he was Saturday night. I was at Roman’s place because I usually meet Patton and Roman there and we carpool. We were going to leave early to get breakfast when your brother came to pick up Remus. But he was not going to be any help, so I volunteered.” 

A wave of guilt swept over Virgil. He had robbed Logan of his breakfast and a good morning.

“Now you need to get up and take your morning meds. Why didn’t you take them last night?” Logan asked, urging Virgil to get up and moving. Virgil did so reluctantly. Virgil gave a weak shrug, but Logan wouldn’t accept that as an answer. He continued to ask why Virgil didn’t take his medications.

“I guess I just didn’t feel like it was worth it. I’ve gone a while without a major depressive episode, part of me thought I’d be fine.” 

“Did you ever stop to think that maybe you haven’t had a major episode because of the medications?” Virgil shook his head, wondering why that had slipped his mind. Virgil went into the bathroom to get changed, and when he came back out, he was greeted with Logan, who was waiting for him with Virgil’s meds.

“Take them, now.” Virgil took the medicine from Logan and grabbed the glass of water from his desk. He took them without a word, feeling Logan staring at him as he did so.

“Can I go back to bed now, I’m exhausted.” 

Logan shook his head. “You’re exhausted because you’re depressed. You need to go eat breakfast, it smells like it’s done. Then we’re headed to school.” Virgil sighed, but didn’t argue. He knew that there was no way of winning this fight. He trudged to the kitchen, where Janus was finishing up some french toast.

“I’m not hungry,” Virgil said, grabbing an energy drink. Logan took the drink from Virgil’s hand. Virgil protested and went to get another, but Janus blocked him.

“Be reasonable and eat,” Janus said, holding out the warm plate. Virgil took it reluctantly.

“If I eat this, can I have my drink back?” Janus looked at Logan, and Logan nodded.

“Yeah, that’s fine I guess.” 

Virgil ate the french toast in a few bites. Eating food felt strange, his brain told him that he wasn’t hungry, but his body was saying something entirely different. In the end, he was grateful for the breakfast.

Logan handed him the can of energy drink and then handed him his backpack. “We have to go or we’ll be late. Mind if I ride with you?” 

“Of course!” Janus said, guiding Virgil towards the door. “It’s the least we can do for everything you’ve done for us this morning.” 

The three of them loaded into Janus’ car. They sat in the same places they had sat just a few days before on their way home from the after party. Virgil stared at the back of Logan’s head, allowing himself to drift into a half sleep. He had turned on his music, but was not paying attention to it. 

Janus looked back at his younger brother, and when he noticed that Virgil’s headphones were placed on their usual place on Virgil’s head, he spoke. 

“I’ve never been able to get Virgil out of bed so quickly when he’s depressed. You weren’t kidding when you’ve said that you’ve done this before, you’re amazing. Think you could teach me so that I won’t have to rely on you again?” 

“I don’t mind helping,” Logan said. “I can come around if this happens again and walk you through the process I use, it’s fairly simple. But hopefully he’ll get better about taking his meds and we won’t have another time. But I understand that you’ll probably need my help again. I can give you my number so you can contact me directly, instead of going through Remus.”

“Thank you so much, that would be amazing. Think you can convince Virgil to take your number too, just in case? I’d feel a lot better if he did.” 

“Of course. You really care about him, don’t you? You act like his parent.” 

“He’s my little brother, of course I care. It’s hard, our parents work a lot and it’s practically just the two of us, and I worry about how that might affect Virgil. But I don’t know how his mind works, I can only help so much.” 

Logan looked back at Virgil, who looked a lot like he did that past Saturday night. Logan knew that while this situation wasn’t exactly ideal, he hoped this would pave the way towards the young emo opening up and becoming friends with him. Logan wasn’t the best at friendship, but he wanted to be the best friend he could be to Virgil. That was going to be his mission from now on. Other than succeeding in school, nothing was more important to Logan. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!  
> I hope you like this chapter! I had a lot of fun writing it, while listening to Virgil's playlist. I guess you can say that this chapter's writing process is one playlist long. It's kinda on the short side, but I still love this chapter so much!  
> Virgil's depressive episode was influenced heavily by my personal depressive episodes and how when I get really bad, I can barely get out of bed. I honestly wish I had someone like Logan to talk me through it and reason with me, we all need someone like that from time to time. (Sorry, didn't mean to get all serious on you just now!)  
> Also, I feel like I should probably mention: If you take meds, this is your reminder to take them today! If you already have, that's amazing!  
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! I went back and edited some grammar mistakes in the last two chapters, and I hope I didn't miss any mistakes in this chapter.  
> Thank you so much for reading!  
> Much love and gratitude,  
> Turtle :)


	4. The Guest at Band Practice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan makes an agreement with Virgil to come and sit through his band practice in the hopes that Virgil will be a little more comfortable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some warnings: cursing (virgil) and a few sexual lines (remus). nothing super terrible tho

Virgil was tired of Janus breathing down his neck all day. In between every other class, Janus had found Virgil and made sure that he was okay after that morning’s episode. He was grateful that his brother cared and was worried about him, but it was rather tiring and annoying to be treated like some child who can’t be trusted. 

“Virgil? I didn’t think I’d find you in the library.” Virgil looked up, meeting the eyes of Logan Berry. The boy who had helped him out this morning. “Not that I think you don’t read, but you just come off as a person who would rather spend their time somewhere surrounded by music or something.” 

Virgil got up from the chair he was sitting in. 

“Yeah, I read, but that’s not exactly why I’m here. I guess I’m sort of hiding from my brother, he’s getting a little overbearing right now.” Virgil had ‘hidden’ himself at the table in the corner of the study area, hoping that Janus wouldn’t even think to look here.

“Did my brother send you?” Virgil asked. Logan set his books on the table and sat down, as if he didn’t even care about Virgil being there.

“Obviously not. I’m here to study. Though I am curious why you would hide from your brother. He’s just looking after you. You scared him this morning.” 

“It’s just a lot to deal with when he’s watching my every move like this. I guess I already have enough anxiety, he isn’t helping as much as he thinks he is. But I can’t tell him that, because he is trying really hard.” Virgil sat back down in his chair, fidgeting with his hands. He felt kind of awkward talking to Logan about this, but at the same time, a sort of calming feeling washed over him. “I don’t even know why I’m telling you this.”

“It’s good and healthy to let out what you’re thinking. Studies have shown so. Maybe you should make a habit of talking to someone, or better yet, get a therapist.” 

“I have a therapist, I just, I don't know. It’s hard to convey what I’m thinking to someone who doesn’t understand. I know therapists are trained to help, but I feel so uncomfortable talking to mine.”

“And what makes you think I would understand better than your therapist?” Logan said, a curious look on his face.

“I don’t know. Maybe because you were able to help me this morning and to do it so well, I unconsciously let you in and now I trust you or something like that. I don’t think I can explain it, I barely even understand it.”

Logan nodded, understanding as much of what Virgil was saying as he could. Logan was never one to read in between the lines that well.

“Well, you may not want my advice, but I feel like you should stop hiding from your brother. The longer he can’t find you, the more worried he’s going to become, which means the more he’s going to invade your space to check up on you.”

Virgil sighed. “You’re right, though I wish you weren’t. But since I’m being open and honest with you, I might as well admit something. I’m not just hiding from Janus, but also Remus. He’s a menace when he has a hangover, more than he is normally that is. And we were supposed to have band practice today, and I don’t think I can handle his bullshit. So I was hoping to kill two birds with one stone and hide from both Janus and Remus until later tonight when practice is over.”

“You’re part of the band, don’t they need you in order to be able to practice?” Logan asked.

“Yes and no. They’ve rehearsed without me many times, like when I have therapy appointments. They always do just fine, and I can practice later with Janus or by myself. But Janus was hoping that I wouldn’t miss practice unless I absolutely had to. He calls this ‘my only social event’ and technically it’s not even that.”

“Then you should go. I tell you what, if you let me study at your house and I can stay until Remus leaves so that you have someone nearby to help if you need it. Though I don’t know what I could exactly. But that way, it may be a comfort to you. I’ve done a little bit of research on psychology, and this might help.” 

“I don’t want to take you away from any plans you have tonight. We can go pretty late some nights.” 

“Nonsense, I have no plans other than studying. It’s Monday, we have school tomorrow. And if I’m going to your house to study, it won’t make that big of a difference.” 

“We’re loud.” 

“So are Patton and Roman when I study around them. Seeing as I’m still a grade A student, I’d say I can handle a little noise.” 

“If you think you can handle it, then it would be comforting if you hung around. I won’t be offended or anything if you leave too, practice can be a lot to handle thanks to Remus.” 

The two of them quickly packed up their stuff and rode the bus back home. Virgil said that Janus and Remus had probably already made their way back home, and would either be waiting at the door for Virgil or had started practice without him.

* * *

When Virgil and Logan walked through the front door, having barely taken two steps into the house, Janus came up to Virgil.

“Where were you? Why aren't you answering your phone? I called and texted you like, a million times.” 

“We were working on homework at the library. I had him turn his phone on silent so it wouldn’t be a distraction. Don’t worry, I was with him the entire time,” Logan said. Virgil nodded, going along with what Logan said.

Janus sighed. “Okay, just please look at your texts when you’re done next time.” He messed with Virgil’s hair, which sent Virgil into a bright shade of red as he was acutely aware of Logan watching him as he fixed it.

“Yes mother,” Virgil muttered.

“I heard that! Now come on, we have practice! Logan, thank you for bringing him home, you don’t have to stay.”

“Actually, Virgil said I can finish up my homework here before heading home, as long as that’s okay with you of course!” 

Janus nodded, and Logan settled himself down on the couch.

Virgil and Janus went and began to set up. As they stood there, tuning their instruments, Janus turned to Virgil.

“So, you brought a cute boy home? When you came out as gay, I was excited, but I didn’t think you’d actually get yourself a boyfriend. You never talk to anybody, much less flirt and ask someone out,” Janus teased. 

Virgil turned a deep shade of red. “He’s not my boyfriend, just a friend, I guess. Look, we were just both at the library and we talked a bit, it’s not that big of a deal. Besides, I’m pretty sure he can hear you, he’s only a few feet away.” 

Logan could, in fact, here every word exchanged between the two siblings, though he pretended to be wholly focused on the homework in front of him. Behind his glasses, there was a light blush on his cheeks as he thought about him and Virgil being a couple. While Logan found Virgil quite adorable and interesting, he understood that Virgil wasn’t even close to being ready to open up to people in any sort of way. Dating was completely out of the question. Besides, Logan wasn’t a hundred percent sure he wanted a relationship right now, with him still having two years of high school and his goal of staying a grade A student. A boyfriend might become a distraction. 

“Oh come on Virge, you don’t have friends,” Remus said. “I’m sure you want to ride him into the run, and he wants you.” Logan struggled to keep back a cough. Remus’ comment had caught him by surprise. 

Virgil, on the other hand, did not try to hide his surprise and horror. “Remus can you please not? It’s not cool dude.”

“Yeah, even I gotta admit that you crossed a line there buddy. Get your head out of the gutter dude.” Janus wrapped his arm around Virgil’s shoulder in a protective manner. “Let’s just focus on getting through practice tonight and we can all rest. It’s been a busy few days.” 

Remus shrugged his shoulders. The three of them went to work, fine tuning certain chords in their songs, playing covers for fun, and discussing certain lyrics.

Near eleven, Remus heard the honk of his brother’s car. “Gotta go!” He gave his customary hugs, or in Virgil’s case, tackles. He completely ignored Logan, who was still sitting on the couch. While Janus walked Remus out, Virgil went to talk to Logan.

“Sorry about them, I wish they wouldn’t say that type of stuff, but Janus is my big brother and Remus is, well, he’s Remus. And don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’m not dumb. You were literally right there.” 

Logan nodded. “It’s fine, I understand that sometimes siblings can be like that. I have none myself, but I know plenty of people with siblings and there is always a similar relationship dynamic. I completely understand.” 

“Well, I can ask Janus to drive you home. You don’t want to take the bus or walk at this time of night, don’t know who could be on those streets.” 

“Thank you, I’d appreciate that.” 

The two of them walked to the door. Janus was still outside, just sitting on the porch. Before they headed out, Logan turned to Virgil.

“Virgil? I know you have boundaries, with your anxiety and everything, but I was wondering. But I did notice that you called me a friend and wanted to know, do you actually see us as friends?” 

Virgil shuffled his feet awkwardly, his words barely a mumble. 

“I can’t hear you.” 

“Yeah, I guess. I mean, after everything you’ve done today, it just feels right to call you my friend. But I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.” 

“No, I actually would love to be your friend, if you’re okay with that at least.” Virgil looked at Logan, who was smiling. Virgil smiled back and the two shook hands. Virgil found it a little odd, but so was the idea of having a friend. 

As Janus drove away, taking Logan home, Virgil noticed Logan wave to him out the window, and Virgil waved back. 

“A friend.” The words left Virgil’s mouth without him even realizing it. The words sounded magical on his lips, making him excited and even a little giddy. Virgil wasn’t sure why it made him feel this way, but he was glad that he was feeling it. And he was sure that he’d be feeling this way a lot more, now that he had a friend. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!  
> First of all, I want to thank my friends in the Fanders Friends discord server for helping me out with a few parts of this chapter! I love hearing your input on what I send you guys, and it's so nice to have you guys encourage me when I get frustrated with writers block, or a sentence that doesn't sound right.   
> This chapter stewed in my head for a while, as I was unsure of how I wanted to get my ideas across. But I'm glad that I was able to get it done the way I wanted!   
> And thank you for reading this chapter! I seriously hope you enjoyed it!   
> Much love and gratitude,   
> Turtle :)


	5. Arcade Adventures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan invites Virgil to the arcade to hang out with him, Patton, and Roman on Saturday. Janus tags along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> quick warning: cursing

The rest of the week passed without any problems. Virgil didn’t have another episode, thanks partially to Logan and Janus reminding him daily to take his meds. Remus didn’t go to any parties and get wasted. It was calm, which was comforting for Virgil.

Logan started coming to more band practices, as Virgil’s emotional support in case anything happened. Virgil didn’t know what it was about the smart, stubborn, glasses-wearing boy that made Virgil want to trust him, but Virgil was fine with not knowing. Logan didn’t say much, if anything, but just knowing he was a few feet away in case Janus and Remus started arguing again, or Remus wouldn’t shut up with his more  _ inappropriate _ jokes, calmed Virgil. It was like seeing a lighthouse at sea, you don’t necessarily need it all the time, but knowing that you have help if a storm came made you more at ease. 

After much begging on Virgil’s part, Janus agreed to ease up on the dating jokes. As long as Logan was out of earshot, Janus had free range to say whatever he wanted to, as long as it was PG-13. Virgil knew he couldn’t completely win this fight, so he relented and agreed. Remus, on the other hand, had to be told multiple times to keep whatever was in his head to himself, especially when Logan was around. 

Virgil was still struggling with the idea of having a friend other than his brother. He had never really considered Remus a friend, more of an annoying sibling that you wished didn’t exist. But being friends with Logan was a whole new experience, Virgil was constantly worried that he would say something stupid to ruin the friendship, or was too boring and quiet and Logan would go back to hanging out with Patton and Roman, forgetting about Virgil. But so far, Logan had done no such thing, or made any indications to do those things. Virgil told himself that it was probably just his anxiety making him worry so much, and he’d have to bring up at his next therapy appointment. 

The weekend rolled around and Virgil was glad that he didn’t have school. Homework and teachers and other students were a lot to handle, and the only thing Virgil looked forward to was sitting with Logan at lunch, ignoring everybody else in the room. In just the span of a week, Logan had tried 8 different anxiety reducing tricks he had researched. Research was something Logan was incredibly good and passionate about, Virgil found that out rather quickly.

This Saturday, Virgil was relaxing on his bed, staring up at the ceiling and listening to his music. He heard his phone ping, indicating that someone texted him. Virgil read the contact, but he didn’t have to do so to know who was trying to talk to him, not many people had his number.

“Have you taken your meds today?” the text from Logan read. Virgil typed a quick ‘yes’ and then went back to listening to his music. He turned up the volume when lyrics to ‘I’m Not Okay (I Promise) by My Chemical Romance began to flow out of his speakers.

His phone pinged again, another text from Logan appeared on the screen. “Are you up for going out in public? Patton and Roman insisted that we go to the arcade today, and I thought I’d offer you the opportunity to come with us.” 

Virgil’s hands hovered over the keyboard on his phone. While he did kind of want to go hang out with Logan, going out in public wasn’t exactly his cup of tea. But Virgil loved the arcade, if he brought his headphones to block out the noise of other people, he would be happy playing games all day. 

“Yeah, let me just ask Janus for a ride. Where should we meet up?” Virgil typed out his message and pressed send. A few seconds later, he received his reply.

“Outside of the arcade. Roman is already driving us there.” 

Virgil grabbed his hoodie from where it was laying on his desk chair and headed to Janus’ room. Janus was sitting in his chair, messing with his guitar. He heard the door open and looked up at Virgil.

“How may I help you this fine morning, my darling little brother?” Janus asked.

“I was wondering if you could drive me to the arcade today.” Janus’ eyebrows went up.

“You, going out? Virgil, I am shocked beyond what words can say.” 

“Cut your bullshit out. Can you take me or not?” 

“Which arcade?” Janus asked. Virgil realized that he forgot to ask and pulled out his phone, typing the question. His phone pinged with Logan’s reply and Virgil looked up at his brother.

“The one downtown by that pizza place you like so much.” 

Janus stood up, setting his guitar down. “Yeah, I’ll take you. Give me a minute to get ready.” Virgil rolled his eyes, his brother didn’t need to get ready. He was already dressed, wearing his favorite mellow tee and jeans. But Virgil went and waited outside by the car, making sure to grab an energy drink before heading out the door. 

Janus came outside, the only difference about his appearance was that his hair was slightly neater. Virgil hopped into the car the moment Janus unlocked it, and waited impatiently while Janus took his sweet time to get in and start the engine. Finally, they were on the road towards the arcade.

“So, who are you hanging out with today? Is it Logan?” Janus asked.

“Yeah, Logan invited me to hang out with him, Roman, and Patton at the arcade today, and since it’s not like I have plans for today, I thought it might be a little fun.” 

“Patton’s going to be there?” 

“Yeah, why?”

“Oh, just wondering. I didn’t know you guys were friends.” 

“I wouldn’t say that we are. But Logan is a mutual friend, so I see him around.” 

Janus nodded, understanding. “Ah, I see.”

* * *

Janus hopped out of the car with Virgil when they arrived at the arcade. They walked to the door where Logan, Patton, and Roman were waiting. 

“Hey, glad you could make it.” Logan said, waving to Virgil. Virgil waved back.

“I hope you don’t mind that if I tag along,” Janus said. “Not much to do around the house and I honestly don’t want to see Remus get absolutely wasted again this weekend. Plus, arcade games sound pretty sweet.” 

“It’s no problem!” Patton said, smiling and bubbly as was normal for him. “The more the merrier!” Janus smiled.

They were about to head inside when Janus blocked Virgil from entering. 

“Leave the headphones in the trunk,” he said, tossing Virgil his keys.

“But Janus, I need my headphones.” 

“No you don’t. You came here to hang out with friends. If you need a minute to get away and destress, that’s one thing. But I know that if you put those headphones on, they won’t come off. Trunk, now.” Virgil sighed and did as he was told. Janus waited for him at the door.

When Virgil came back, Janus said, “Look, I don’t want to come off as bossy, but you really need to start pushing yourself to get out of your comfort zone. Make some more friends or something. If you really feel like you need to, keep my car keys and you can come and sit in the car if you get anxious. Or I can take you home. But promise me that you’ll try to push yourself just a little bit.” 

The two of them headed inside and caught up with the rest of the group. Patton and Roman pointed out games they wanted to play and every time Patton put a dime in a claw machine, Logan would remind the group how those games were designed so that you would lose.

“You know, they have a karaoke room here!” Roman said. “We should go and try it out! Patton and I have been looking forward to a karaoke battle since they first announced that they added it! You’re a singer, right Janus? Come and try it with us!” 

“That sounds amazing! Come on Virge!” 

“Nuh uh. I know you said to push my limits, but I will not go in there. No singing.” 

“Come on Virgil, please?” 

“I’m staying out here.” 

Logan cleared his throat. “I can stay with him. Karaoke holds no interest to me, I’d much rather play another arcade game and sit around than watch you guys make fools of yourselves on stage.” 

“Thanks Logan!” Janus said, ignoring the last part of Logan’s comment. He followed Patton and Roman into the karaoke room, leaving Logan and Virgil standing in the middle of the arcade. 

“So, you want to play a game?” Virgil asked. “I mean, of course you do, we’re at an arcade and you said that you’d rather play another game instead of doing the karaoke thing. What I mean is, do you want to play a game with me? I don’t know why I’m rambling, I’m sorry.” Virgil shuffled his feet, his cheeks tinted pink from embarrassment. 

“Don’t apologize, you did nothing wrong. And yes, I would love to play a game with you. How about one of those Mario Kart games? I’m especially good at those.” 

Virgil agreed and the two of them went and sat down at the empty Mario Karts. Virgil immediately chose to play Dry Bones, and waited for Logan to choose his character. He raised an eyebrow when Logan selected Princess Peach.

“I didn’t think you were the princess playing type,” Virgil said. 

“Why wouldn’t I be? Virgil, she’s a princess, meaning she has power. I aim to win, so why would I pick the character that will give me a more likely chance of winning?”

“Who told you that playing Princess Peach raised the chances of winning?”

“Remus did. Years ago, when he introduced Patton and I to the-” Logan paused realizing what Virgil was implying. “Remus lied to me, didn’t he?”

Virgil nodded, trying to keep from laughing.

“I’m glad you find it so amusing. Well, I’m fine with playing Princess Peach, she is an amazing driver.” And with that, Virgil couldn’t hide his laughter. Logan smiled, thankful that Virgil was smiling and seemed carefree and happy.

* * *

“Well, today was fun,” Logan said. “Thank you for meeting us here today, I hope you enjoyed yourself.” 

“Yeah, I did. Maybe we can do this again, so I can beat your butt at Mario Kart for a third time,” Virgil said. 

“I won the first time, I’ll have you remember. And I can totally do that again. Fine, we should do it again and I will be the one to beat your butt in Mario Kart.” Virgil rolled his eyes, laughing at Logan. Another smile spread across his face.

Logan found Virgil’s smiles contagious, he couldn’t help but smile back whenever Virgil flashed a smile. Logan had only known Virgil for a short while, but he knew that a Virgil smile was a rarity. They had this sort of magic to them that made his stomach do flips. With each smile, Logan found himself falling just a little bit deeper down his hole of crushing on Virgil. But he reminded himself that Virgil was still getting used to having friends, he probably wasn’t ready for a relationship. Besides, he didn’t know if Virgil was even interested in him, and Logan did not want to ruin their new friendship. Everything Logan did made sense and logically driven, asking Virgil out would not be something Logan would do. 

Patton and Janus were talking near Janus’ car. After saying goodbye to Logan and Roman, Virgil walked over, hoping to leave for home soon. He was exhausted after today, as well as mentally drained from being so social. Neither Janus nor Patton seemed to notice him as he walked over. 

“So, I guess I’ll see you on Monday! Take care Jan!” 

“You too Patton darling,” Janus said in a soothing voice. Virgil raised an eyebrow, though no one saw his look of confusion. 

Then Patton stood on the tips of his toes, reaching his face up and kissing Janus on the cheek. Janus turned a bright shade of red, clearly just as surprised by the act as Virgil was. Patton didn’t seem to notice though, he just turned on his heels and bounced off towards Logan and Roman. 

Virgil stood motionless as Patton bounced away, processing what he had just witnessed.

“You flirted with Patton,” Virgil said, looking at his older brother in surprise.

“Yes.”

“He called you Jan…”

“Yes..”

“And then he kissed you on the cheek.” 

“Are you going to keep stating the obvious little brother?” Janus asked, clearly enjoying watching Virgil sort everything out in his mind.

“Since when have you been into Patton Morgan?”

“The two of us have been flirting for a couple of months now, I’ve been into him for almost a year. You’d know this if you spent less time hiding in your room and more time with other people.” 

Janus cleared his throat, clearly looking for a subject change. “Ready to head home?” 

“Yeah,” Virgil said, walking to the passenger side and climbing into the seat. Janus got into the driver’s seat, his face still tinted pink from the blush.

“Was that the first time he kissed you?” Virgil asked.

“Um, yeah.”

“And you two still aren’t dating?”

“No, but, I plan to ask him out,” Janus said.

“When?”  
“Soon, very soon.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everybody!  
> I'd like to thank the Fander Friends discord server for listening to me bounce ideas for this chapter off of them, giving me suggestions, and telling me their opinions on clips of the chapter I sent them! Each and every one of them is amazing and I would not be able to publish such amazing chapters without their emotional support and literally input!  
> I felt like Janus deserved a bf, and my personal favorite Deceit ship is Moceit, so I'm glad to say that you will see more of those two together in this fic!   
> Let me know if I have any grammar errors or misspelled words! It would mean a lot to me if they were pointed out, that way I can go back and fix them! If you notice any, dm me on tumblr! (my tumblr is @genderfluidturtle)  
> Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!   
> Much love and gratitude,  
> Turtle :)


	6. A Constant in a World Full of Variables

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The entire group gets together to spend a monday evening out at the park.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: cursing and rude gestures (Virgil, Janus, Roman, Remus)

“I got us another gig! This one is going to be even better than the last!” Janus said, as he walked in unannounced into Virgil’s room, followed by Remus.

“Isn’t this amazing! It’s like we’re a real band!” Remus said, clapping his hands together. Today he was wearing a mostly leather outfit, from leather pants, to a leather jacket, and leather fingerless gloves. The only non-leather items were Remus’ plain dark green t-shirt and his combat boots. Virgil thought it looked rather uncomfortable, but if it bothered Remus, it didn’t show.

“Remus, we are a real band,” Janus said. Remus giggled, clearly knowing that he was pushing Janus’ metaphorical buttons. Janus let out a low growl, which Virgil took as a signal to step in before the two start fighting again, in his room.

“That’s great Jan! When is the gig?” Virgil asked. Janus turned to his younger brother, who was laying on his bed, wrapped in a blanket. 

“Sunday, which means we need to practice. I know you just got home from school, so I’ll let you relax or whatever it is you do in here all day, but how about tomorrow night?” 

“Okay, I guess.” Virgil wrapped the blanket around himself a little tighter and went back to looking at his phone, just like he was before Janus and Remus paraded into his room.

Janus stared at Virgil for a moment before speaking up. “That’s it, Remus out.” Remus looked confused but did not get a chance to ask what was up when Janus shoved him out the door and closed it in his face, locking it for good measure.

“What was that about?” Virgil asked.

“Why are you acting so depressed right now? Hiding in your room on your phone is one thing, I can understand that. But the blanket? You hate blankets, you much prefer your jacket. Did you take your antidepressants this morning? How about yesterday?” 

“Chill out Jan, I took my meds both yesterday and today. And I just have my blanket because my jacket ripped. I can’t wear it anymore. Last night, when Mom was home, she went to wash it and it got torn in the dryer, so I’m jacketless for the time being. Until Mom can take me shopping, at least.” 

Janus sat on the side of the bed, thinking. “You know, I can take you shopping. I know that I’m not Mom and having her is comforting, but I won’t lie to you and tell you that she’ll make time for it like she used to, so why not just get it done?”

“It’s the one thing I still get to do with mom. I haven’t believed that she’ll make time for us like she did when we were five years old in a long time. Things were much different back then. I understand that. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it and that doesn’t mean I don’t want her to at least try. I don’t need a jacket that bad, I can wait. It’s nice and warm outside.”

Janus raised his eyebrows. Literally everyone who knew Virgil could say with complete certainty that Virgil’s jacket was his security blanket of sorts, the constant in a world full of variables. So if Virgil wasn’t rushing to replace it, that meant he really wanted for their mother to step up. 

“If you say so, but let me know if you change your mind.” Janus got up and walked out of the room. He closed the door behind him and walked into the living room, where Remus was sprawled on the couch, waiting for attention.

“Is the poor emo boy depressed again?” Remus asked, his face a mixture of worry and teasing. 

“He’s fine, and you know he hates you calling him that, no matter how true it is.” 

* * *

Virgil hated the feeling of the blanket, it was too heavy and made him uncomfortably warm. But his jacket was gone, so this would have to make do. His constant in a world full of variables, as Janus liked to say. He should have just accepted Janus’ offer to take him shopping for a new one, but part of him really wanted that relationship he had with his mom in the past to continue being what it used to be. Even though he knew that there wasn’t. 

Virgil stared at the black screen of his phone, wondering what to do. He could admit defeat and go ask Janus to take him shopping, or he could wait and go get a new jacket himself later without Janus. He knew that Janus wouldn’t tease him over something as serious as their family, but he still didn’t want to admit that his relationship with his mother was completely gone. Virgil added this to his mental list of yet another thing to talk about at his next therapy appointment. The list was getting rather lengthy. 

Virgil’s phone pinged as the screen lit up from a notification. Virgil opened the phone up and looked at what had popped up. It was a text from Logan.

“I know it’s Monday and you probably want to take it easy after this weekend, but Patton, Roman and I are hanging out at the park and we wanted to know if you and your brother would be interested in joining up.” 

Virgil hopped out of bed, the blanket still around his shoulders, and walked into the living room. Remus and Janus were sitting on the couch, playing a video game.

“Emo!” Remus yelled when he saw him. “Have you decided to become a superhero?” 

Virgil flipped off Remus, which made Remus flip him off in return. Janus just sighed.

“What’s up Virgil?” Janus asked, setting his controller down on the coffee table.

“I just got a text from Logan,” Virgil said, ignoring the not-so-subtle coughing noises Remus was making to hide whatever he was actually saying. “He wants to know if we would like to join him, Patton and Roman at the park. Right now.” 

“Sounds boring, hanging out with my brother and his friends. Why leave when we have video games and other shit?” Remus asked.

“Patton’s going to be there?” Janus asked, joining Virgil in the ignoring Remus game.

“That’s what Logan said in his text, so I assume so.” Janus blushed a little when Remus mumbled something about being head over heels for Patton. 

“I for one, would like to go,” Janus said. “But if you don’t want to go Virge, just say so and we’ll stay home so that you can cuddle with your blanket or whatever it is you do.”

“If I didn’t want to go, I would have just told Logan that and never told you anything about it. Let me grab a drink and then we can head out, if that’s okay with you.” 

Remus agreed to tag along, only because Janus didn’t trust him to be left alone, so it was the park or back to his house.

Virgil grabbed an energy drink and left his blanket on his bed before heading out to the car and climbing into the backseat. Janus and Remus were already waiting for him in the front seat, and the moment Virgil was buckled in, they headed off to the park.

Logan, Patton and Roman were all at the pond, watching the ducks swim around. Virgil couldn’t hear what they were saying, but he guessed Logan was spewing out random facts about ducks and things like that.

The moment the three friends at the pond saw the others coming toward them, they all got up to say hello. Patton practically raced over to say hello to Janus, as if they hadn’t seen each other in months, even though it had only been a few hours. 

“Thanks for inviting us,” Virgil said to Logan when the two groups were together and now one group.

“No problem. That is what friends do,” Logan said. Virgil laughed awkwardly, unsure of what to say. No matter how hard he tried, he was still getting used to having a real friend, and there were a lot of awkward silences. 

“What happened to your jacket? You never go anywhere without it. I believe that you brother even likes to call it your, and I quote, ‘constant in a world full of variables.’ I like the way he says it, he’s very well-spoken.” 

“Um yeah, my old jacket kinda got ruined and I don’t have a spare. But it’s fine, I’ll get a new one eventually.” Virgil went to pull his hood up over his face, like he normally did when he was uncomfortable, but it wasn’t there. To cover up for his mistake, he ran his fingers through his purple hair. This act did not go unnoticed by Logan, but he stayed silent.

“Come on you two, we’re going to walk around the pond and then go get something to eat for dinner!” Roman called. The two friends jogged to catch up with the group.

The entire evening, Patton and Janus were practically glued to each other's sides. They talked, laughed, and flirted, ignoring the other people in the group. Roman and Remus spent most of their time arguing with the other, which got annoying pretty quickly. Which left Logan and Virgil practically walking by themselves. Virgil actually preferred it that way, he wasn’t close to Roman or Patton and he didn’t really feel comfortable enough to reach out and try to become friends.

The wind picked up as they made their way to the cars to go get dinner. Virgil shivered a little bit, the wind sending goosebumps up his arms. Logan looked down at him.

“Are you cold?”

“Just a little bit,” Virgil said, rubbing his arms to warm them up. “I’ll be fine.”

“Give me one second,” Logan said, jogging over to Roman. They talked for a minute, but Virgil was too far to hear what they were saying. Then Roman handed something to Logan and Logan ran over to Roman’s car. He came back carrying a dark object in his hands. Logan handed it to Virgil, who realized it was a hoodie.

“Is this yours? Don’t you need it, it is cold out here.” 

“Nonsense, I’m much larger than you are, therefore I have more muscles to keep me warm, plus a little wind doesn’t bother me that much. Go on and wear it, before you turn into a popsicle.” Virgil put it on, immediately feeling warmer and comforted from the soft liner on the inside of the hoodie. 

Because Virgil was so much smaller than Logan was, the hoodie didn’t fit quite perfectly. The jacket reached past his waist and the sleeves covered his hands, leaving some slack. Virgil shook his hands and ended up smacking himself in the face with the extra sleeve length on accident. Logan tried not to laugh at it, but neither him nor Virgil could keep a straight face. 

Logan couldn’t help but notice how tiny and adorable Virgil looked in clothes that were almost double his size. Everything about Virgil seemed double the amount of cute and lovable than what Logan thought Virgil usually looked like. In reality, Virgil probably looked like some gremlin, but not to Logan. Logan found this hot topic gremlin rather attractive.

“Let’s get pizza!” Patton shouted, waking Logan from his ‘admiring Virgil’ daydream like state. 

“I’m down for pizza!” the Prince twins said at the exact same time, making everybody laugh.

“What about you Virgil, do you want pizza?” Logan asked. 

Virgil nodded. “Pizza sounds nice.” 

“Pizza it is then!” Janus said. “How about we switch up cars for now? Patton can come with me and I’ll take Virgil as well since he’s my brother. Roman, you take Logan and Remus. Sound good?” 

“There is no way I’m taking Remus, he’s being a huge asshat right now!” Roman protested.

“When is he not?” Virgil muttered under his breath, quiet enough so that only Logan heard him.

“Fine then, you take Logan and Virgil, I’ll take Remus. Happy? We’ll meet up at the pizza diner just down the street, the one with the super good breadsticks.” 

The group loaded into their two separate cars.

“Just to warn you, Roman sings along to the radio. So talking is basically a waste of time, because I won’t be able to hear a word you’re saying,” Logan whispered to Virgil before hopping into the front seat. Virgil climbed into the back. They drove the five minutes to the pizza place, listening to Roman sing along to Katy Perry’s Firework. It certainly was entertaining for Virgil, and he had to admit that Roman was a really good singer. 

They climbed out of the car and waited for Janus to pull up just a few seconds later. The friend group headed inside and sat down at one large table. Everyone ordered their pizza and drinks and sat talking. Finally the pizza arrived and everybody started digging in.

“Pepperoni? I sort of pegged you as a mushroom type of guy,” Virgil said, indicating to Logan’s pizza.

“I’m not the biggest fan of mushrooms, but pepperoni pizza is amazing. I guess I was right in thinking you were a cheese pizza type of person,” Logan said. Virgil nodded.

“Ever since I was little, I’ve only liked cheese. Everything else seems to overly complicate the pizza and I never liked the taste of pepperoni.” 

The two talked about different pizza types and what was good and wasn’t good on pizza until everybody had finished eating and the group headed to the register to pay. 

“I got it!” Roman said. “You guys go outside and wait by the cars, I’ll be out in a moment.” 

Outside, the wind had picked up even more. Even through the warm hoodie Logan had lent him, Virgil could feel a hint of the cold.

“Glad you took my jacket now, aren’t you?” Logan asked.

“Here, you can have it back now, I’m about to climb in the car and go home anyways,” Virgil said, beginning to take it off. 

‘It’s fine, I have other jackets at home. Keep it until you get around to getting a new jacket. Or just keep it, let it be your ‘constant in a world full of variables’.”

“You don’t know how many times I’ve heard that phrase today. It’s getting kind of old. But thank you, for the jacket. And for the invitation to the park. It was lots of fun.”

“Thank you for accepting my invitation to the park.” The two fist bumped, which had sort of become their thing, since shaking hands seemed too informal and Virgil was still kind of uncomfortable with the idea of hugging. 

The two parted ways, headed to different cars which would take them home. Logan looked back while Virgil walked away, admiring the adorably small emo in the large hoodie. Then he got into the front passenger seat of Roman’s car and waited for everybody else to file in. Remus was already in the back seat, he was coming with them since Roman was his brother. 

Logan thought about how amazing today was, and how he’d get to see Virgil in the hoodie again, hopefully tomorrow at school. He let himself relax as he waited for Patton and Roman.

* * *

Virgil walked over to Janus’ car, where Patton and Janus were talking while they waited for Roman. Virgil went to climb into the front seat, but the door was still locked. So he’d just have to wait for Janus to unlock it.

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow at school,” Patton said.

“Yup, see you tomorrow!” 

“Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” Patton said, shuffling his feet. Virgil recognized the signs that Patton was nervous about something, as they were often signs and actions that Virgil did when he was nervous. 

“What’s up Pat?” Janus asked, leaning against the car.

“Would you maybe, god this is so silly. Would you maybe want to go out sometime, like just the two of us?”

Janus’ face reddened. “Like a date?”

“Yeah.”

“Patton, I was literally planning on asking you that tomorrow after school! I had this whole thing planned out to make it super cute and everything! Of course I would love to go on a date with you!” Virgil smiled, happy for his older brother. 

“I’m sorry I ruined your lunch plans then!” Patton said. “But I’m super happy you said yes!” He reached up and planted a kiss on Janus’ cheek, the second kiss he had given Janus. Janus smiled and the two hugged. At that point, Virgil was getting tired of watching, so he cleared his throat, reminding the two older boys that he was still there. Janus glared at him, upset that he had ruined the moment, but Patton didn’t seem to mind.

“I’ll text you about planning the date! See you tomorrow Jan!” Patton said, right before bouncing off to Roman’s car. 

Virgil just smiled at Janus and pointed to the locked car door. 

“Did you have to ruin it?” Janus said as they climbed in.

“Yes, I did. I want to go home. But I am super happy for you Janus, that was adorable!” 

“Well, Patton’s adorable.”

“Don’t start going soft on me! I don’t think I can take it!” Virgil said, in mock distress.

“Oh shut up you asshole!” Janus said teasingly.

“Just drive us home already!” The two laughed and talked about the evening all the way home. Both were happy, Janus thinking about his upcoming date, and Virgil about the soft jacket he was wearing and the friend who gave it to him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everybody!  
> Thank you for reading this chapter, it was so much fun to write!  
> I basically centered this whole chapter around the idea of Virgil wearing Logan's jacket and it being way to big for him. I just wanted to have Logan realize how adorably smol Virgil was.  
> More about Janus and Virgil's mom is to come, so please bear with me on that part. I know she seems kind of random and useless right now (other than the fact that she ruined Virgil's jacket so now he used Logan's), but she will be playing a slightly bigger role later.  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter!   
> Let me know if there were any spelling or grammar errors by DMing me on tumblr (my tumblr is @genderfluidturtle)! I would appreciate that a whole bunch so that I can come back and correct it!  
> Much love and gratitude,  
> Turtle :)


	7. Take Deep Breaths and Count What You See

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Janus goes out on his first date with Patton. While he's gone, Virgil needs a little help, so he calls Logan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warnings: cursing, anxiety attack

The week had passed and The Others had spent almost every free moment rehearsing for their next gig. Virgil had never played the same eight songs so many times in his life. Part of him never wanted to hear them again, but he knew that would never be the case.

Logan’s jacket had become a permanent part of Virgil’s outfit. Virgil kept telling himself he’d return it when he got a new one, but he hadn’t even gone to the mall to look for one. Virgil found the jacket more comfortable than his last one, and Virgil found the size made it even cozier. 

He would never admit it, but one of the best parts about having a jacket too big for you was that the sleeves made excellent weapons. Remus had “accidentally” been smacked in the face many times this past week when he was getting on Virgil’s nerves. 

Saturday evening rolled around, the night before the gig. Janus was getting ready to go out with Patton on their first date, which meant Virgil would be home alone all evening. It didn’t bother him, but Janus kept asking if he’d be okay.

“I can call Remus and he can hang out here while I’m gone,” Janus suggested.

“I can take care of myself, you worry about your date. Where are you taking Patton?” Virgil asked, changing the subject and hoping his brother didn’t notice.

“Patton insisted on planning the date and keeping it a surprise. You sure you don’t want Remus to come? He won’t mind.” Janus applied a thin layer of eye shadow, which was a tan color so that it made his eyes look a tiny bit shinier. 

“I said I’ll be fine.”

“You can call Logan you know. Ask him if he wants to hang out tonight, that way you aren’t alone.”

“I’m fine. I’m going to practice for tomorrow a little more, I’ll be good by myself.”

“If you say so…” 

Janus finished his makeup and looked at his watch. 

“I have to head out. Don’t forget to make yourself dinner. I’ll be back kind of late, but I will still be up early tomorrow for the gig.” 

“Okay, have fun.” Janus hugged Virgil, and then rushed out the door to go meet Patton. Virgil waved goodbye as his older brother drove away and then flopped down on the couch. 

Virgil told himself he should start practicing, he didn’t want to mess up on stage tomorrow in front of god knows how many people. He grabbed his bass and sat up, picking at the strings, humming the song Janus had written. 

“Tomorrow is going to be so exciting,” he muttered to himself as he ran his fingers over the thick strings. Virgil thought about how many times Janus had forced the band to practice until they were absolutely perfect. Janus had even talked about recording a demo soon so that they could get signed and make an album. His brother had big and ambitious plans for the band and their future. 

Virgil’s mind wandered, his fingers moving on their own. He thought about everything Janus had talked about. He thought about performing, recording, actually being a serious band. 

Virgil remembered when Janus and him were a lot younger, and how they would pretend to perform for their mom. Janus had always been one for the dramatics, singing and bouncing around, so full of energy. Virgil had always been quiet, having to be coaxed by his older brother to even play air guitar. But their mother always smiled with Virgil ‘played’ and that alone was enough for Virgil to continue pretending. When Virgil hit fourteen, he knew he wanted to play bass. After pretending to play for so many years, Virgil was obsessed with actually playing, and he was a natural at it as well. But by then, his mom had started working full time and traveling for work, so she had never actually heard him perform on a real instrument.

The bass in Virgil’s gripped hummed with each strum of Virgil’s fingers. His mind wandered back to the gig tomorrow. He remembered the first gig, and how frightened he had been to go up on that stage. How scary it was to perform in front of a crowd of strangers. 

Fear and worry washed over Virgil as he remembered having to block out the sounds of the venue and wanting to hide in his hoodie, where people couldn’t see him. When Janus announced his name and Virgil awkwardly waved, and then the after-party, everything about that night made Virgil’s stomach turn. It’s not that he didn’t enjoy performing, he just got anxious. 

Emotions and fears swirled in the whirlpool of Virgil’s mind. 

“No, not this again,” Virgil said, recognizing that he was spiraling into a panic attack. He’d had many before, but usually he had Janus to walk him through it and calm him down. But Janus wasn’t here. Virgil reached for his phone, but then remembered that Janus was on a date. His first date with Patton. Janus had been looking forward to this evening all week, Virgil couldn’t call him.

Virgil scrolled through his short list of contacts, taking deep breaths just as his therapist had taught him to do. His mom, Remus, Janus, and Logan. 

He couldn’t his mother or Janus, so that left Remus and Logan. Remus was out of the question, Virgil doubted that he’d be much help. He hit Logan’s contact and pressed the green call symbol, holding the phone up to his face, continuing to take deep breaths.

* * *

“Roman, you asked me to help you with this homework, you need to actually try,” Logan said, getting slightly annoyed with his dramatic friend. 

“I am actually trying! This shit isn’t easy ya know! Well, maybe for you it is, but normal people like me struggle!” 

Logan was about to say something about Roman’s comment when he heard his phone start to ring. He checked the caller ID, and was surprised to see that it was Virgil. Virgil wasn’t the type of person who would call, he didn’t like the pressure of a phone call and much preferred texting. 

“Give me a second,” Logan said to Roman before answering the call. “What’s up Virgil?” 

Logan heard what sounded like heavy breathing on the other side of the call. 

“Um, I need you to come over, just for a short time.” Virgil’s voice was full of panic, and Logan grew concerned.

“Is everything okay? Where’s your brother?”

“Janus is out on a date. Um, can you please just come over? I really need someone.” 

Suddenly, it clicked in Logan’s mind. “Virgil, are you having an anxiety attack?” 

“Yeah.” 

Logan didn’t know much about anxiety. He had helped his mom with depressive episodes before, but not anxiety attacks. He tried to remember what he had learned from that psychology book he had read a few months back .

“Okay, I’m on my way. Are you taking deep breaths?” 

“Yeah.” 

Logan turned to Roman and quickly asked him to drive him to Virgil’s place. Then he continued to talk to Virgil.

“Okay, keep breathing. Um, try counting all the things you can see. Tell me ten things that you can see.” Logan headed out to the car and hoped in, leaving his backpack and everything else he had brought to Roman’s place behind. Roman followed him and drove while Logan continued to talk to Virgil.

“Tell them to me. What do you see?” 

“Um, I see my bass. And the couch.”

“Keep going,” Logan instructed.

“I see the door and your hoodie. Um, there’s the lamp, and I see a candy bar.”

“Four more Virgil, I’m almost there.” 

“I can’t think of four more things, this room is practically empty.” Virgil’s voice cracked, full of emotion. 

“Yes you can. I know you can. Come on Virge, just four things.”

“Okay okay. I see my shoes, and Remus’ drumsticks. There’s a book here too.” 

Roman pulled up in front of the house and Logan hopped out of the car. He jogged up to the front door and looked for the spare key. Virgil had shown him where it was hidden a few days ago. He grabbed the key from its hiding place and unlocked the door, still holding the phone to his face. 

As he opened the door, Virgil spoke up. “The last thing I see is you.” 

Logan set down the phone and practically ran across the living room to where Virgil was sitting on the couch. Virgil was shaking and his breaths were shallow. 

“Calm down. How can I help?” Logan grabbed Virgil’s hands and held them, hoping that this would stop the shaking.

“Um I don’t know. Janus usually just talks to me about stuff until I calm down.” Virgil said. 

“Okay, then I’ll talk to you. What do you want to talk about?” 

“Um, anything I guess. Janus usually tries to ask me about whatever music I’m listening to or something to keep me engaged or whatever.” 

“Okay, then tell me about the song you were playing. Your bass is out.” 

“Um, I was practicing for the gig tomorrow. I don’t remember what song I was playing, I was just sort of playing,” Virgil said. 

“Okay, then tell me about the music you’re listening to.” 

Logan had Virgil talk about anything and everything he could think of until the shaking had stopped and his breathing returned to normal. 

By the time Virgil felt better, he had curled up against Logan, who had his arms wrapped around the smaller boy. Logan tried not to think about how adorable Virgil was, he was here to support and help a friend. 

“Were you thinking about performing tomorrow when you anxiety triggered?” Logan asked once he was completely sure that Virgil was okay.

“Yeah, I was.” 

“Are you sure you should be performing? I mean, if it’s triggering your anxiety, it can’t be healthy.” 

Virgil shrugged. “I usually just focus on playing the music instead of all the things that scare me or make me anxious. Our first performance, Janus told me to close my eyes and pretend that I’m playing for myself alone in my room.” 

“And that worked?” 

“Yeah, it did.” 

Virgil sat up, leaving his place cuddled up next to Logan.

“I’m so sorry I had to call you. I just couldn’t do that alone. Last time I went through that alone was not fun. That’s why Janus almost never leaves me alone, it’s not that he doesn’t trust me. He’s just scared I guess.” 

“I can see why. You had me rather worried when you called me. Are you sure you’re okay?” Logan asked.

“I’m good now. You can go if you want. I know you were probably doing something before I called you.” 

“I was about ready to rip Roman’s head off, I could use a break. If you don’t mind me hanging around, that is.” 

“I don’t mind at all. But there isn’t much to do around here. Get ready to be bored out of your mind,” Virgil said, smiling. Logan smiled back, full of gratitude to no one in particular that Virgil was okay. 

“Have you eaten dinner?” Logan asked.

“No, I can make us something though. Janus still has to go grocery shopping, so all we have is mac and cheese.” 

“Why don’t I order us some food and have it delivered?”

“I couldn’t ask that of you.” 

“It’s a good thing that you didn’t ask then. How about some Thai food? I know a good restaurant nearby that delivers.” 

Logan ordered some take out and the two friends sat on the carpet in front of the tv, talking and letting the sound of the movie they had turned on serve as background noise. 

The two heard a knock at the door, signalling that their food had arrived. Logan got up, insisting that Virgil stayed and waited, and paid for the food. 

Together they sat and ate in silence. Logan could tell that Virgil enjoyed the food by how quickly he finished his bowl of garlic noodles. 

“Those were the best garlic noodles I’ve ever had,” Virgil said as he set down the empty container. 

Logan watched as Virgil yawned. “Are you tired?” Logan asked.

“A little bit. Anxiety attacks take a lot out of a person. I usually end up napping afterwards.” 

“Then you should nap. I’ll stay here to tell Janus what happened when he gets home. And don’t talk back, you aren’t asking this of me, I’m offering. Go lay on the couch.”

“If you say so…” Virgil obeyed and went and laid down on the couch. He grabbed a blanket and pulled it up over his shoulders. With Logan’s giant hoodie still on, Virgil looked incredibly cozy and warm.

As Virgil began to drift to sleep, Logan sat on the second couch and began to read on his phone while he waited for Janus. But every once and awhile, he’d look over at the sleeping form of Virgil and smile, admiring how cute and adorable he was. 

* * *

Janus opened the front door, practically jumping up and down from the giddiness that followed a first date. He was about to shout for Virgil to come so he could tell him about the evening when he noticed the boy sitting on the couch. Logan looked up from his phone.

“Ah, you’re home.” 

Janus raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I am home. Why are you here? Where’s Virge?” 

Logan made a soft shushing noise and pointed to the second couch. Janus looked over the back and saw a sleeping Virgil, wrapped up in a blanket. 

“Would you be willing to drive me home? Don’t worry, I’ll explain in the car. I just don’t want to wake Virgil up,” Logan said. Janus nodded and motioned for Logan to follow him out the front door. 

The two hopped into Janus’ car and headed out the driveway.

“Explain, now.” Janus’ voice was stern. “Why were you there? Did something happen?” 

Logan told Janus all about the anxiety attack and how he was there to help. As they pulled up in front of Logan’s house, Logan stayed in the car in order that he could finish explaining the situation to Janus. 

“Thank you for taking care of him. You seem to do it a lot better than I do. Seriously, you’re a lifesaver man.” Janus said. 

‘It’s not a big deal. I’m just looking out for my friend and helping him when he needs me.” 

“Can I ask a question? It’s a personal one and you aren’t obligated to answer.” 

“Of course, go ahead and ask.” 

“You like Virgil, don’t you? Not as a friend, but as more.” 

Logan sighed. “Yeah, I do. But he’s still getting used to having friends and so many things make him uncomfortable or trigger his anxiety. Right now he needs a friend, so that’s what I want to be to him. My personal feelings set aside, I would never do anything to purposefully make Virgil uncomfortable or anxious.” 

Janus nodded. “Thank you. You’re exactly what Virgil needs. Will we see you tomorrow at the concert?” 

“Yes, I told both Patton and Virgil that I would be there to support you,” Logan replied. 

“I'll see you then I guess,” Janus said as Logan opened the car door. 

“See you then.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Everybody!   
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It was a roller coaster of emotions to finish it.   
> There's not much to say but thank you to my friend Alexis for letting me bounce ideas off of her for this! My friends are super helpful and are part of what keeps me writing. They mean the world to me!  
> I really hope you enjoyed it!  
> Much love and gratitude,   
> Turtle <3


	8. Support From the Wings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The band's second gig

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate name for the chapter:  
> Gig Number 2: Electric Boogaloo  
> also some warnings: bit of sexual mentions (nothing explicit or even near that) and a few curse words..

“Virgil, wake up!” Remus’ voice woke Virgil from a restful sleep. 

“Get out of my face before I kill you,” Virgil grumbled, burying his face into his pillow and shoving Remus away. 

“No can do emo. Jan said that you need to wake up for today. And since him and Patton are busy packing and being all romantic,” Virgil heard Remus make a fake gagging sound. “He sent me in here to get you.” 

“Tell him that I’m up, I’ll be out in a few seconds.” Virgil pulled the blanket up around his head, hoping that Remus would leave. 

“You have to get off the couch bitch,” Remus said, yanking the blanket off of Virgil. Virgil groaned, reaching out for the stolen blanket, but it was not in arm’s reach. Remus held it as far away from Virgil as he could without moving. 

“Don’t call me a bitch,” Virgil said, standing up and looking around. He was in the living room, apparently having slept there all night. He looked over at Remus, who was smiling like he was dying to say something.

“What?” Virgil asked.

“Two things,” Remus said. “Your hair looks like a rat’s nest, love the new look.” He laughed as Virgil ran his fingers through his purple bangs, trying to fix it a little bit. 

“The second thing,” Remus continued. “Is that I know who was here last night.” 

Virgil froze, knowing what Remus was implying. Remus was one of those people whose train of thought went mostly one way, and that one way wasn’t the most appropriate way.

“I know what you’re thinking. Stop, right now. No,” Virgil said as he grabbed his phone off the table and headed to the kitchen to get an energy drink. Remus followed him. Virgil mentally wished that the annoying older boy would just vanish, but he knew that would never happen.

“You honestly expect me to believe that he came over when no one else was home, comforted you and fed you, and then the two of you didn’t actually do anything? That’s lame.” 

“Well it’s the truth and I’d thank you to leave your disgusting thoughts out of my personal life. We’re just friends, can’t you understand that?” 

“Oh I can understand that. But let’s be real here Virge, you’re wearing his jacket, you choose to call him, he’s the only friend you have, and you’re openly gay.” 

“I hate you,” was all Virgil said in reply.

“So you do like him?”

“No! I mean, I don’t know. I like him as a friend. Would you please just shut up?” Virgil grabbed an energy drink and stormed into his room, making sure to close the door before Remus could follow him.

Janus and Patton walked into the living room, hands intertwined and swinging. 

“Is Virgil awake?” Janus asked.

“Yup, I got him up and motivated.” 

“Oh no, what did you do?” 

“Nothing, just asked him a few questions about his night last night?” 

“Remus!”

* * *

Virgil quickly got ready, changing out of the clothes from last night and into a clean t-shirt and jeans, which resembled his other clothes incredibly well. He grabbed his headphones and his phone, and slipped them into the pocket of Logan’s hoodie. Then he sat down on his floor and began cleaning up his face and hair, as well as putting on a new layer of eyeliner to replace the makeup from yesterday.

He heard a knock at his door as he finished applying the makeup.

“I swear to every god that has ever existed, I will murder you!” He shouted as the door opened. But the person that entered the room was not Remus, as he had thought, but Janus.

“Sorry, I thought you were Remus.” 

“Oh I’m fully aware of who you thought I am. Don’t stress about it though.” Janus sat on the floor next to Virgil. He pointed to the hairbrush. “May I?” Virgil nodded, he didn’t see the harm in letting his older brother brush his hair every once in a while.

“Remember when we were little and you would always come up and ask me to brush your hair? You asked like, three times a day,” Janus said as he ran the brush through Virgil’s purple locks.

“I did not!” Virgil protested. “At the most twice, but never three times.” 

“If you say so little brother.” 

“You sure it’s a good thing to leave Patton out there with Remus?” Virgil asked, not so subtly changing the subject. 

“Nah, I think he’ll be fine. Logan just got here to help pack up, so I think Remus will be focused on tormenting him.” Virgil’s mouth formed an ‘oh’ but no sound came out.

“Speaking of Logan, want to tell me about last night? No, I will not start asking questions like Remus. And yes, Logan already told me everything, but I’d like to hear it from you.”

“Well, it’s pretty simple I guess. You were on your date, I didn’t want to bother you with my anxiety attack. I couldn’t call mom, and I don’t trust Remus to help me. So that left Logan. He came, helped me calm down by talking to me like you do, and then he ordered take out because you haven’t gone shopping. After that, I fell asleep.” 

Janus continued to run the brush through Virgil’s hair, even though it looked more presentable and all of Virgil’s tangles had been brushed out. 

“I’m super glad that you could trust him and decided to call him instead of going through it yourself. Last time,” Janus paused, looking for words to describe what he was saying. “Last time wasn’t so pretty.” 

“I’m better now. I’m taking my medications and seeing a therapist and staying active. I’m doing everything that’s supposed to help. I don’t think there’s going to be another last time,” Virgil said.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry that I worry too much. I just care and since mom isn’t around, I really am trying my best.” Janus set the brush down and looked at his work as he stood up.

“Thanks Jan. I know you’re trying your best, and I can’t thank you enough for being so amazing.” Virgil stood up with his brother and looked at the mirror to see how Janus had done.

“There’s just one thing to make it better,” Virgil said, smiling a devilish smile at his older brother.

“Don’t do it,” Janus pleaded. Virgil ran his fingers through his hair, ruining most of Janus’ hard work. The two laughed as Virgil ran his fingers through it a second time. 

“You actually look better that way. But I still like doing your hair!” Janus said, laughing as the two brothers exited the bedroom. 

~

Sure enough, just as Janus has said, Logan had arrived to help pack up and Remus was not giving him any space to breath. Roman was there as well, acting as a driver since they couldn’t fit everybody and all the gear in one single car.

Janus walked over to pull Remus away as Virgil packed up his bass and carried it to the car. As he loaded it in the trunk, he saw Logan walk over to him.

“Did you sleep well? I hope you feel better today.” 

“I slept fine,” Virgil said. “And thanks for last night, what you did was really amazing.” 

Logan shrugged his shoulders. “It wasn’t amazing if I’m being honest. I was rather clueless on how to handle the situation. I did my best though and I’m glad that I was able to help even a little bit.”

“A little bit? You helped me a lot. Seriously man, thanks.” Virgil held out his fist and Logan fist bumped it. 

“I think that’s the last of it!” Patton shouted from the house. “Ready to go?” 

“Let me grab my drink from inside,” Virgil said, running into the house and coming back out with his energy drink as well as an unopened one he was planning to drink later on in the day. 

“Let’s go then!” Janus said. “Half of us in my car, half of us in Roman’s.” Everybody loaded up. Remus, Patton and Janus in the car with all the gear, Logan, Roman and Virgil in the other car. 

The drive was nice and relaxed for Roman’s car. Roman sang along to some of the songs on the radio while Logan read a book on his phone and Virgil played music on his headphones. No one really spoke, except for the occasional text between Logan and Virgil, as they didn’t want to interrupt Roman’s jam session. 

The other car was also enjoying themselves, but in a completely different way. They were all singing along to the radio at the top of their lungs, a variety of music pouring out of their radio and making the group excited. 

After a few hours of driving, the two cars pulled into the parking lot of the venue. They all worked together to get the gear out of the car and set up and then Janus went to talk to the manager of the place, making sure everything was ready. 

“Hey, Virgil,” Janus said, walking up to his brother as he was setting up. “You know you can’t wear that hoodie on stage, right? It’s too big for you, how could you play when your hands are covered in soft fabric like that?” 

“Janus, I can’t go on that stage without my jacket. What happened to your ‘constant in a world full of variables’ bullcrap? This is my constant, you know this.” Virgil pulled the hoodie tightly around his body, practically becoming one with the fabric. 

“I’m sorry Virge, but I need you to play. You’re wearing a long sleeve shirt goddamn it, pretend that’s your jacket. Or just think about how your jacket is literally in the wings waiting for you. I don’t know, just figure it out. I’ll buy you a smaller jacket if you really need me to, but you need to stop waiting for mom to step up and take you. Right now, I need you to think seriously. Please Virgil.” 

Virgil sighed, knowing that his brother was right. “Fine, I won’t wear the jacket on stage. But you owe me.” Janus broke into a big smile.

“You know I do.” 

* * *

Ten minutes before Virgil had to get up on that stage and play. The jacket still hung around him, he didn’t plan to take it off until the last minute. 

“Hey,” he heard Logan say from behind him.

“Hey,” Virgil said back. “How did you get backstage.” Logan shrugged his shoulder.

“I have my ways. Besides, it’s not like they spend a lot of money on security here. If I’m being honest, all I had to do was ask and they let me back here.” 

“Okay, but why are you back here? Is something wrong?” Virgil asked, his voice laced with a hint of concern and anxiety.

“No, don’t worry, nothing’s wrong.” Virgil let out a small sigh of relief. “I just came back here to wish you luck, and make sure that you’re okay. You aren’t anxious, are you?”

“Just a little. But I’ll be fine,” Virgil said, trying to act confident.

“Will you be fine? I can stay back here if you need me to, so that I can help if something happens.”

“That would be nice, thanks.” 

Just then, Janus and Remus walked over. “Come on, we’re about to go on.” He looked at the jacket pointedly. Virgil sighed and removed it from his shoulders, handing it to Logan.

“Stay here?” Virgil asked before heading on stage.

“I said I would, didn’t I?” Logan answered, smiling as Virgil walked away.

Logan watched as Virgil ran on stage, looking incredibly uncomfortable without a hoodie on. He gave a timid wave to the crowd and picked up his bass. Logan watched from the wings, noticing how Virgil shifted his weight to make himself look as small as possible. Logan wanted to walk on that stage and drag Virgil off, take him away from the cause of his anxiety. But he knew that Virgil agreed to play, and that Virgil wanted to play, even if he didn’t like being on stage. Logan reminded himself that he needed to respect Virgil’s boundaries, that they were just friends and that was fine.

As Logan listened to the music, which was giving off heavy Queen vibes, and smiled. He noticed that between songs, Virgil would look over at him, making sure he was still there, just in case. Logan would wave and smile, earning a smile back from Virgil each time.

Logan held on tightly to the jacket that Virgil had left. The jacket that Logan had given to Virgil. Part of Logan wanted to wrap it around himself, but he decided against it. The whole idea was strange and illogical. Logan set the hoodie down so that he’d stop thinking about it and focus on the performance.

Finally, ‘The Others’ performed their last song and Janus said goodnight to the crowd and thanked them before leading the other two off stage and into the wings.

“You actually stayed just in case,” Virgil said. Logan handed him back the hoodie.

“Of course I stayed. I promised that I would do so, didn’t I?” 

“Yeah, but-” Virgil started to speak before he was interrupted by a lady who came walking up to the group.

“Oh my goodness, my little nightmare! You were so amazing!” The lady said, wrapping her arms around Virgil and hugging him tightly. Virgil gave out a little squeak, his arms pinned to his side.

The woman herself was rather small, with delicate features and long silky brown hair. She had large brown eyes and had an air that commanded attention. 

Logan could tell that this lady was making Virgil incredibly uncomfortable. And the look of pure hatred that Janus was giving her did not help her much. 

Logan cleared his throat. “Excuse me ma’am. This area is for band members and their friends and family only. I’ll have to ask you to let go of my friend and leave.” 

The woman let go of Virgil, who took in a deep breath as if he hadn’t been breathing in the hug. She turned to face Logan and studied him for a minute. Logan stood at least five inches taller than her, but she didn’t seem to mind. 

“I will do no such thing. I’d even say I belong here even more than you do, mister glasses.” 

Janus let out a low growl, but Virgil held him back before the older brother could charge at the woman. 

“And why do you feel that way?” Logan asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Because I’m Janus and Virgil’s mom of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!   
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It marks the start of a very angsty plot, so here is your warning to maybe start bringing some tissues with you when you read. (just kidding. or am I?)  
> Special thanks to my friends, Alexis and Dee, for letting me bounce ideas off them and listen to me explain the plot. It really helps me think and brainstorm, so this fic wouldn't be as good without it.  
> And a special thanks to you guys, the people who actually bother to read my writing! I love reading your guys' reactions to each chapter and hearing your favorite part and what made your heart melt!  
> So thank you!  
> Much love and gratitude,   
> Turtle


	9. Mother and Sons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil and Janus' mom gets to spend some one on one time with Virgil, Janus remembers all that she's done to make him not like her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some warnings: food

“Because I’m Virgil and Janus’ mom of course.” Janus gritted his teeth. He hated this woman, hated everything about her. 

When they were younger, their father had left them, gone off to god knows where, leaving his family behind and alone. Their mother had been forced to work more jobs to support the family. At first, Janus thought she was the coolest person ever, supporting her two children like that. But that feeling of respect and adoration wore away as he grew older and he saw the truth. His mother favored her younger son, Virgil. Virgil looked like her, and acted less like her ex-husband. Janus was a living breathing reminder of the man who left her, and she never treated him the same as when they were a whole family. 

She doted on Virgil, dedicating almost every free moment she had to him. Janus didn’t hold that against Virgil, it wasn’t his brother’s fault. But it did sting to continuously get shoved to the side or forgotten by the one person who was supposed to love him more than anyone else. 

But Janus held back his bitterness, even at such a young age. He knew that hating his mom would do no good, so he stayed cheerful, for himself and for Virgil. Back then, Virgil was too young to fully understand the situation. To protect him, their mother had invented a lie that Virgil’s father had gotten a new job and would now be spending a lot of time away from home for work. Janus had played along, telling Virgil that one day, their dad might come back. Even as they were older, and Virgil knew the truth, they acted like he was just temporarily gone. It was a sort of crutch for Janus, so that he didn’t have to face the reality that he and his brother had been abandoned. 

But what broke the deal about his mother for Janus was when she started working full time at her new job. He understood that she needed to bring in money, but he also knew that they were doing just fine before she got the new job. She had become obsessed with her work, so much so that soon, she didn’t even have time to play with Virgil. And then the company offered to pay her even more if she went on long business trips for them, and she accepted. She spent probably a day or two at home in between her trips, and most of that time was spent sleeping or doing laundry so that she was ready for her next trip.

Once she started traveling, Janus took over as the parental figure in the house. He was the one who took Virgil to school and doctors appointments. When Virgil had his first panic attack in middle school, Janus spent the next few days searching for a therapist so that Virgil could get help. Janus spent long nights reading psychology books and websites so that he knew how to walk Virgil through a panic attack and calm him down. He had asked the therapist about the anti-depressants for Virgil when the depression got super bad. He had done everything for Virgil, all because this woman was too busy on an airplane instead of with her family. 

“What are you doing here?” Janus asked his mom, trying to keep the venom out of his voice. She had no right to show up and cheer for Virgil as if she had always been there, supporting him. Janus didn’t even want to go into the fact that she had yet to say a word to him. 

“I’m here to support my baby.” She wrapped her arm around Virgil’s shoulders, holding him close to her. Virgil tried to shrug her off but she was practically glued to his side. “I’m his mother, I’m allowed to do that.” 

Logan cleared his throat. “We really should start packing up our stuff. We do not want to get in trouble with the venue manager.” Janus muttered his agreement and started packing up the mics. 

“You wouldn’t mind if Virgil couldn’t help tonight? I’d like to spend the evening with him. Maybe get some food and drive home together. He can tell me all about school and everything!” Janus’ mother said. 

“Actually, I think i should stay here,” Virgil said, the first words he had spoken since his mother arrived.

“Don’t be silly, it’s just a few cables and things, right? Besides, I want to spend as much time as I can with my little nightmare. I have some big news to share and everything!” She said, grabbing his hand and forcing her fingers in between his. Janus noted that his brother looked incredibly uncomfortable, but he knew that now was not the time or the place to pick a fight. 

“I guess we can handle it. As long as Patton and Roman help out,” Janus said, not looking his mother in the eye. He read the concern on Virgil’s face, but chose to ignore it. Let their mother have her nostalgic evening with her favorite son, Janus wouldn’t let her know that it bothered him. 

“Yay! We’ll meet you back home. Don’t stay out too late with your friends,” she pulled Virgil away from the group. As he was being dragged away, Virgil turned back and waved to Janus and Logan, his face unreadable. 

Patton, Remus, and Roman walked over to Janus and Logan, who were both watching Virgil walk away.

“Jan, are you okay?” Patton asked, lacing his fingers gently through Janus’ hand. 

“Not really, but I’ll be fine after we eat something,” Janus lied. 

“Is your brother not joining us? Who is he going with?” Roman asked.

“That is the amazing Victoria Black,” Janus answered, his voice oozing sarcasm.

“Wait, Victoria Black?” Patton asked. “Like your mom?” 

“Yes darling. That, I’m afraid, is my mother.” 

* * *

Virgil’s arm felt like it was being ripped out of his shoulder as his mother pulled him across the venue parking lot and towards her car. She watched him climb into the front passenger seat before getting into the vehicle herself. She turned on the engine, allowing the car to start up as she put on her seatbelt.

“So, where would you like to go for dinner? Pick anywhere you want!” She said. Virgil shrugged his shoulders, unsure of how to answer. He had planned to go for burgers with Janus and the others, but now he was stuck with his mother.

“Oh fine, I’ll choose. I could go for a steak, couldn’t you? I know of an excellent five star restaurant just a few miles from here with the best steak you’ve ever tried. You’d love it.” She pressed her foot on the gas and the two drove down the road in silence.

For the past few years, Virgil dreamed of his mother coming and spending more time with him, like they used to. But now that she was here, now that he was sitting in her car, all he felt was anxious. He wanted to be helping pack up, and sitting next to Logan eating a burger. Now that he had what he thought he wanted, he realized that it wasn’t perfect as he had dreamed. Janus hadn’t exactly been subtle about his irritation and anger when their mother just showed up. And Logan didn’t seem to like her that much either. 

“We’re here!” Virgil’s mom said in a sing-song voice. She parked and the two climbed out of the car and walked towards the restaurant. 

“Table for two please,” Virgil’s mom told the waiter. They were led to a large table in the corner, too large for just two people. The entire restaurant was dimly lit, giving it a more calming vibe. The people there were calm and quiet, not making enough noise as to disturb the other customers. 

They sat, looking at their menus for a moment. A waiter came up and asked for their drinks. Virgil ordered a coke and his mother ordered an iced tea. They sat for a few minutes, waiting for their drinks.

“Are you guys ready to order?” the waiter asked as he set their drinks down. 

“Yes, I’d like the number 12 steak, medium rare. A side of mashed potatoes and a salad please.” Virgil’s mother handed in her menu. 

Virgil quickly glanced over the menu, undecided on what he should order. “I guess I’ll have the same thing, but instead of the salad, I’ll have corn on the cob.” He handed his menu in and the waiter left to go get their food started.

“So,” Virgil’s mom began, resting her elbows on the table and holding her chin in her hands. “Tell me all about school.” 

“School’s okay I guess,” Virgil said, his hands roaming, searching for something to do and keep him calm. They ran through his hair, played with the strings of his hoodie, even bunched up his shirt. “I’m passing, the lowest I have is a B.” 

“That’s great! What about friends? Oh, or a girlfriend? I’m sure you managed to get the cutest girl in your school, right?” 

Virgil tried not to physically cringe when his mother mentioned him having a girlfriend. Because she wasn’t around that much, he had never gotten a chance to come out to her. He didn’t think that now was the right time to do so, besides, he didn’t know how she felt on the whole “son being gay” situation. He didn’t want to know how she’d react when she found out that both of her sons liked guys. 

“Um, no girlfriend right now. I guess I’m kind of just focusing on the band and my music,” Virgil said, his grip on his shirt tightening. 

“Oh that’s great. Remember how you and your brother used to hold those adorable little pretend concerts for me back when you were young? Highlight of my day! I loved them! And now to think that my little nightmare has grown to be an actual musician! I think you should be doing more of course, you should be at center stage, the one everybody focuses on! But you’ll get there eventually,” she said.

The waiter arrived with their two steaming plates and set them on the table. Virgil’s mom turned and thanked the waiter.

“Let’s eat! You’ll love it so much!” She said, pushing Virgil’s plate a little closer to him. Virgil cut off a bit of the steak and took a bite. His mother was right, it was the best steak he ever tasted, but if he was being honest, the bar wasn’t that high. He didn’t often go out to eat steaks. 

“I was watching your performance and I have a few notes for you and your band members. Your brother and that boy on the drums. Don’t worry, the only note I have about you is that you need to act more confident, like you actually want to be there. The rest are mostly at Janus, like how he should probably get vocal lessons to work on his singing, and stuff like that.”

“I think Janus is a wonderful singer and a lot of people agree,” Virgil muttered into his mashed potatoes. 

“Maybe so, but there is always room for improvement, especially in your brother’s case. We can’t have him bringing down the quality of your music, only the best for my Virgil,” his mom said, stabbing at her steak with her fork. 

His mother kept on talking throughout the meal, telling Virgil about her work, some buddy of hers who missed his plane, and other boring stuff that Virgil had absolutely no interest in. But he preferred her talking about herself over her criticizing Janus and the band. So he listened and nodded, pretending to be engrossed in every word that she said. 

They finished their meals and the waiter came and took their food away. Virgil was ready to go home and go to sleep, but his mom seemed to have different plans.

“We should get a desert to split. Remember when you were a kid and I would take you out to the restaurant by our house to get fudge brownies and ice cream? Wasn’t that fun? We should get the fudge brownie and ice cream, in honor of the good old days.” 

She waved to the waiter and ordered the desert, not even waiting for Virgil to respond. They waited patiently for him to bring them their treat. Virgil’s mom grabbed two spoons, handed one to Virgil, and then began to eat. Virgil ate much slower than she did, having smaller bites and less ice cream. 

They finished that part of their meal and finally headed over to the cashier desk to pay. Virgil stood by the door while his mother chatted a few minutes with the cashier. They headed to the car and his mother unlocked it.

“Do you mind if I sit in the back?” Virgil asked. “I’m kind of tired after tonight and would like to listen to my headphones and fall asleep.” Virgil wasn’t actually that tired, but he didn’t know if he had the mental energy to handle another conversation with his mom. 

“Oh, I guess,” she said. “If you’re tired, then that’s fine.” She got into the driver’s seat while Virgil climbed into the back and pulled out his headphones. He relaxed into the comfortable back seat and turned on his music, shuffling his playlist. ‘The Ice is Getting Thinner’ by Death Cab For Cutie turned on and Virgil closed his eyes, pretending to sleep. With his hoodie pulled up, he knew that if his mother looked back, she would never realize that he was awake, and that was exactly what he wanted.

The drive home was perfect, no noise except for his music. His mom drove with the music off, probably so as not to disturb Virgil. Once they got home, Virgil climbed out of the car and headed straight to his room, wishing his mom a good night as she unloaded her things. Janus and the others hadn’t gotten back yet, they were probably enjoying themselves instead, which made Virgil slightly jealous. 

Virgil locked his bedroom door and flopped on the bed. He heard a knock at his door and hoping it was Janus, went and unlocked it. But the person who walked in was not Janus, but his mother. 

“Hey kiddo, I just realized that I forgot to share my big news with you. You might want to sit down for this, you’ll be so happy!” she said, walking him over to his bed and guiding him to sit down. She sat next to him and took his hands into her own, making him slightly uncomfortable. 

“Are you ready for my big news?” She asked.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Virgil said, trying to pretend to be full of excitement.

“I got promoted and am going to start working from home!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Victoria Black, Virgil and Janus' mom, was an interesting character to create and write.   
> Thank you to my friends Dee and Alexis, for letting me bounce ideas off of them and giving a suggestion every once and a while. It really helps me think and I wouldn't be able to write without them.   
> And thank you to everyone who reads it, comments, and leaves a kudos! You guys are so amazing, I love hearing your thoughts after you finish the chapter! It really helps me see what your favorite parts are and make sure that there are more scenes that you guys will love.   
> So, thank you!   
> Much love and gratitude,  
> Turtle :)


	10. Not-a-dates, Naps, And Confrontations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan invites Virgil out to see a movie in order to escape his mom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some warnings: cursing, slight homophobia

Outside of school, Logan hadn’t seen Virgil all week. Virgil’s mother had been keeping them busy, taking him to different events and places, even to a party one of her coworkers was throwing. Logan was constantly getting texts and calls from Virgil, so that Virgil could vent or tell him about his evening. It was very clear that Virgil did not enjoy the time he was spending with his mother, but he had no way out. 

Janus didn’t seem to be enjoying having his mother home either. From what Patton had told Logan, it seemed that Janus hated his mother, and that they often didn’t get along. But Logan knew that it was none of his business, so he never asked about it. 

“Hey Patton, I feel like I should invite Virgil to do something tomorrow, but I don't know what. I could invite him to the arcade tomorrow, but we’ve done that already and I don’t want to seem boring. Any ideas?” Logan asked the older boy sitting next to him.

Patton looked up from his phone. “You want to invite Virgil somewhere? Like on a date?” 

“No, we’re just friends. You know that I’m respecting his boundaries and everything. He just wants a friend, not a boyfriend.” 

Patton rolled his eyes and sighed. “Fine okay, a thing for the two of you to do as just friends. Um, you guys could go to the mall, stay home and play video games. Oh! You could see that new action movie that Virgil was talking about just the other day! I’m sure he’d like that.” 

“That’s right, he was talking about that movie at lunch the other day. And it does kind of look interesting. I’ll text him and ask if he wants to go see it tomorrow.”

* * *

Virgil sat on the couch with his mom, watching some house renovation show that she had turned on and made him watch with her. She had wrapped her arm around his shoulder, keeping him close to her. She had monopolized practically all of his free time. He hadn’t had a chance to practice his music or hang out with Janus or Logan. As much as social interaction made him uncomfortable, he sort of missed it. 

Suddenly, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, alerting him of a text. He pulled it out of his hoodie and unlocked his phone. The text was from Logan, which didn’t surprise Virgil. Not many people tried to get in contact with Virgil.

“Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to go see that action movie tomorrow afternoon around one. I thought you’d like to get out of the house.” the text read. Virgil smiled and typed his reply.

“That would be amazing. Meet you there tomorrow?” Virgil pressed send and waited for a response.

“Sounds good! See you then.” Virgil smiled at his phone and set it down.

His mom looked over at him and said, “You know, I was thinking. Tomorrow, I have to go into the office to get some things sorted out. Maybe you can come with me and then afterwards we can hang out somewhere? Wouldn’t that be fun?” 

“Actually, I have plans to go see a movie tomorrow. Sorry mom, but I’ve already committed.” 

Virgil’s mom sat up. “Is it with a girl? Do you have a girlfriend now?” She asked, her excitement barely contained.

“No mom, there’s no girl involved. A friend and I are just going to go see an action movie together. It’s nothing special.” Virgil’s mother sank back down into the couch, disappointed. Virgil still hadn’t worked up the courage to tell her that he was gay, and he didn’t plan to do so anytime soon. 

“I promise that you will be the first one to know when I do get a girlfriend,” Virgil lied, knowing that day would never come. Virgil’s mother perked up and went back to watching her show. 

* * *

Logan waited outside the theater the next day, reading a book on his phone. He had arrived a little early so that he could pay for the movie tickets, and now he was just waiting for Virgil to show up. He looked up when he heard a car door slam and watched as Virgil walked over to him and Janus drove away.

“Hey,” Virgil said.

“Hey,” Logan replied.

“Let me just get my ticket and then we can go in,” Virgil said, starting to head to the theater’s ticket booth. 

“Actually, I paid for your ticket. I invited you here, and you look like you could use a break from responsibility.” Logan noted how Virgil’s eyeliner had been done in a hurry, it was slightly smudged in the corners of his eyes. The hoodie that Logan had given him had a few wrinkles in it. 

“Thank,” Virgil mumbled as he took his ticket from Logan and the two of them headed into the theater. They chose their seats in the dark room and waited for the movie to start.

As the movie began, Logan noticed Virgil yawn. He wondered how much sleep the other boy had gotten, and if they should just reschedule the movie so that Virgil could go take a nap. But they were already sitting in the theater and Logan loved how excited Virgil looked when the first fight scene began. 

As the movie went to a quieter part of the movie, with no action sequences, Virgil began to yaw more and more. He began to slump into the chair, falling asleep. Soon, his head was resting on Logan’s shoulder, his breathing shallow and relaxed. Logan wanted to move so that Virgil could be more comfortable, but he couldn’t think of a way for that to happen because of the way Virgil was sitting. So he gently moved Virgil’s head to his lap, so that Virgil was laying on his side. 

Logan looked down at the sleeping boy whose head was resting in his lap. Virgil’s purple hair framed his face and Logan fought the urge to play with it. Instead, he just moved a single lock out of Virgil’s face, feeling it’s softness and smiling. He noticed how Virgil’s eyeliner had smudged, making him so much more adorable in Logan’s eyes. The light of the screen illuminated Virgil’s face, giving his face a pale look. Logan continued to study Virgil’s sleeping face instead of watching the movie, memorizing every little detail. 

* * *

Virgil stirred as he heard a loud noise. He opened his eyes and remembered that he was in the movie theater, watching an action movie with Logan. It took a moment for him to realize that his head was resting on Logan’s lap. His face turned a bright shade of pink, heat rushing up to his cheeks. He looked up at Logan, careful not to move enough so that the other boy realized that he was awake.

The light from the movie screen reflected off of Logan’s glasses, making it impossible for Virgil to see his eyes. Logan’s hair seemed to have gotten slightly messed up from him leaning against the seat, making it lose its shape and looking softer. Virgil watched as Logan’s chest rose and fell with each breath. It was calming to watch, and Virgil found himself matching his own breaths to that of Logan. 

“Hey, you’re awake,” Logan said quietly, startling Virgil. Virgil sat up.

“Yeah, I guess I fell asleep. I’m so sorry, I completely ruined the movie. We were so excited to see it too.” 

“Don’t worry about it. We can rent it when it comes out on dvd and watch it then. Besides, you looked really tired, did you sleep okay last night?”

Virgil shrugged his shoulders. “My mom wanted my help with a work project of hers. I ended up sorting through documents until around 3 a.m. Luckily today is Saturday, so I didn’t have to worry about school. I’ll be fine. I’ll probably just sleep late tomorrow.” 

The two exited the theater, walking onto the sidewalk and headed down the street.

“Want me to walk you home?” Logan asked. Virgil nodded and the two headed towards Virgil’s house, Logan telling Virgil about the movie so that Virgil didn’t feel bad about missing it. 

They walked up the driveway to Virgil’s house and Virgil unlocked the door. “Want to come in? My mom won’t be home for about another hour, so we basically have the house to ourselves. We can play video games or something,” Virgil suggested. 

“Is your older brother not home?” Logan asked.

“Nope, he’s out with Patton, on a date, doing I have no idea what.” 

Logan thought for a moment. He wanted to stay and continue to spend time with Virgil, but he knew that he promised his mother to help with some things around the house.

“Can we get a rain check on the video games? I really want to, but now isn’t the perfect time,” Logan said.

“Oh, yeah. Of course we can do it another time. Well, I guess I’ll see you Monday,” Virgil said, heading into the house as Logan headed down the driveway and onto the sidewalk.

“See you Monday.” Logan waved goodbye as he headed home. 

* * *

“Virgil? Are you home? I’m back a whole half hour earlier than I expected, so I thought we could do something!” Virgil’s mom, Victoria said as she opened the front door and set down her purse. 

“I’m home mom, but I’m really tired. Maybe we can do something later?” Virgil asked. 

“Don’t be silly!” she said. “You can sleep tonight, it’s the weekend! You should be enjoying yourself!” She said. Virgil sighed and stood up from where he was relaxing on the couch. 

“Is your brother home?” Virgil’s mom asked him.

“He has a name you know. And no, he’s out.” 

Just then, as if magically summoned, the door opened and Janus stepped inside. He looked incredibly happy and was about to call for Virgil when he noticed his mother.

“Hello mom. I thought you were at work,” he said. 

“I got home early,” she said, her voice void of emotion. “And where, may I ask, were you?” She crossed her arms and shifted her weight onto one hip, making her look very serious. 

“I was out bowling. I told you that I had a date.” 

“Really? Who’s your girlfriend then?” Their mom asked.

“My boyfriend’s name is Patton. You know, Remy and Emile’s kid?” 

Their mother’s eyebrows shot up, the surprise written all over her face.

“Boyfriend? How come I didn’t know of this?” She asked.

“I didn’t think it was that big of a deal whether or not I was dating a guy or a girl. Is it a big deal?” 

“No! Of course not! You’re uncle is gay you know.” 

“Uncle Thomas? You mean the guy that you never speak to? Yeah, way to show your support mom.” Janus rolled his eyes. Virgil stood awkwardly behind his mother, not sure if he was supposed to leave or not. 

“I will not be talked to like that! I don’t want you sneaking behind my back to go on dates with your boyfriend any more. I need to know where you are at all times.” Their mother raised her voice, making Virgil jump a little bit. 

“What? What do you mean? You’re being ridiculous. I told you and Virgil that I had a date last night at dinner. I wasn’t going behind your back!” Janus said, raising his voice to match his mother’s.

“Like it or not, you are my son. What I say goes! Now go to your room and don’t come out until dinner. I can’t deal with you right now.”

“Why am I in trouble? I literally did nothing wrong.” 

“God, you are so much like your father. Just go.” Janus and Virgil both froze when they heard the words leave their mother’s mouth. They’re dad was never mentioned, it was an unspoken rule in their family. And now their mom was using him to guilt trip Janus. Janus looked over at Virgil, his face full of anger and concern, before storming out of the room and slamming his door. 

Virgil watched as his mom flopped onto the couch, placing her head in her hands. He heard her start to cry, but he didn’t make a move to comfort her. Instead, he slipped out of the room as quietly as possible and made his way to Janus’ room. 

“Hey, mind if I come in?” He asked, poking his head inside. Janus’ room was much neater than his own, even his desk was free of mess. Janus was sitting on his bed, hugging a pillow. 

“Of course. As long as mom isn't with you.” Virgil slipped in and closed the door behind him. 

“Let me guess, she’s in the living room, crying and feeling sorry for herself.” Janus guessed. Virgil nodded and Janus rolled his eyes. 

“I’m assuming she doesn’t know about you then. You being gay as well I mean.” 

“I haven’t told her,” Virgil said. “She keeps going on about me having a girlfriend, I just wasn’t sure if it’s a good idea.” 

“Well now you know. Our mother is a homophobic bitch. I guess we should have realized sooner, with Uncle Thomas not being around like he used to be before he came out. Although with you, it might not matter. She practically worships you, no offense. It’s because you aren’t like dad. You look like her, and that’s all that matters in her mind.” 

Virgil sat down awkwardly on the bed next to Janus. 

“I’m sorry Jan. What can I do to help you, if there is a way to help you.” 

“There’s nothing you can do but take care of yourself. Don’t let her treat you the way she treats me, please. I care too much about you and we both know what it would do to your mental health if you had to deal with that.” Janus ran his fingers through Virgil’s bangs, brushing it with just his fingertips.

“That I can do.” 

They went quiet as they heard their mother’s footsteps come down the hallway and pass the room. They heard her close her bedroom door and waited a minute before speaking again.

“Looks like she’s out for the rest of the day, too busy with her pity party. You should probably get some rest. I know you were up late last night,” Janus said.

“Yeah, I should go take a nap. Let me know if you need anything?” Virgil asked as he stood and headed for the door.

“I’ll let you know. But go, take a nap. And don’t wake up until it’s time for dinner.” 

Virgil headed to his room and flopped down on his bed. He contemplated putting on his headphones and listening to music, but he was too tired to get back up to grab his headphones. As he lay there, his mind swirled with worry and stress. But then he remembered waking up, his head in Logan’s lap. He remembered how happy he was when he was hanging out with Logan, and he hoped that he could feel that happiness again soon. He drifted off to sleep, remembering how comfortable and at peace he was sleeping in the movies. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!  
> So you all probably hate me for this chapter, and honestly, I can't blame you. What originally started out as a self indulgent "Virgil falls asleep on Logan because i want it" chapter magically turned into whatever this is and I honestly can't explain why. But when I reread it, I thought, "ANGST. It must stay now because it just flows in my opinion," so you guys are stuck with it.   
> Literally, the only thing that goes through my mind when I write Victoria is "this bitch fills me with so much fucking rage. I want literally everyone to hate her. What can I write to make people hate her?" And from your guys' reactions, that thought process seems to be working!  
> Also, yes, character Thomas is Janus and Virgil's uncle. He is the younger brother to Victoria, and he will actually show up later, because I have so much love for him. (I have so much love for everybody if I'm being honest...)  
> Feel free to DM me on tumblr (@genderfluidturtle) if you see a spelling or grammar mistake! That way I can come back to this chapter and fix it!   
> Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed (or at least enjoyed the first part) this chapter!   
> Much love and gratitude,  
> Turtle :D


	11. Family Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan invites Virgil and his family over to have dinner with his parents

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some warnings: tiny bit of homophobia. cursing. food mentions

Logan sat at his desk, doing his homework and thinking about the movie he had seen with Virgil just the day before. Well, he was thinking less about the actual movie and more about how Virgil had fallen asleep on him. Virgil had looked undeniably attractive in the dark light of the movie theater, and Logan’s mind had fixated on that fact. 

He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard someone knock on his bedroom door. He told the person to come in and his mother opened the door. She walked into his room and sat on his bed.

“Logan, sweetie, come talk to me,” she said, patting the bed next to her to indicate that she wanted him to sit.

Logan did as he was told and sat, cross-legged, on the edge of his bed. Then, he waited for whatever was about to come next.

Logan’s mother was a smaller woman. She had chin length black hair, with grey streaks, from the stress she felt at work. She had a smile that shined and rested comfortably on her kind face, giving her an air of wholesomeness. She wore bright red glasses, which matched her lipstick almost perfectly. Her fashion style was similar to Logan’s friend, Patton. She wore colorful sweater vests, with button ups underneath. 

“Your father and I have talked, don’t worry, you aren’t in trouble. But you keep talking about this Virgil boy, and we’d like to meet him. We want to see if he’s just as adorable and sweet as you make him sound.” She smiled at her son, whose face was tinted a light shade of pink. Logan wasn’t used to talking about his crushes to his parents, but Virgil was different. There was a part of him that wanted to share his adoration for the smaller boy with anyone who would listen. 

“Maybe you can invite him over for dinner, him and his family. We’re having pasta tonight, I know it isn’t fancy, but maybe he’d like it.” 

Logan thought about it for a moment. He was hesitant to introduce Virgil to his parents, mostly because he didn’t know how Virgil would feel about it, but he decided that it wouldn’t hurt to at least invite him. Virgil could decide not to come if he wanted. 

“I can text him if you want, but I can’t make any promises,” Logan said, grabbing his phone from its home on his bedside table. 

“Thank you Logan. I know you’re hesitant to talk about your emotions with your father and me, but we love you and love hearing about this guy. Well, I love it more than your father does, but he likes to complain about everything.” His mom smiled and Logan smiled back. Logan watched as his mother left the room before looking at his phone. He originally planned on texting Virgil, but something compelled him to call instead. He pressed the green button and held the phone to his face, waiting for Virgil to pick up.

“Hey Logan. What’s up? Is something wrong?” Virgil asked.

“No, nothing is wrong. Why do you ask?” 

“You never call, so either something is very important, or something is wrong,” Virgil said.

“Nothing is wrong, I promise. I just wanted to ask you something, and for some reason, I called instead of texted,” Logan said, feeling slightly embarrassed that he had called. 

“Okay then, what’s up?” Virgil asked, completely unaware about Logan’s embarrassment. 

“I know it’s really last minute, but my parents want to know if you, Janus, and your mother would like to come over for dinner. It’s nothing fancy, just some pasta. Don’t feel obligated to come, they won’t mind if you don’t want to meet them.” 

“That sounds really nice. My entire family thought? Are you sure your parents want to deal with that?” Virgil asked.

“That’s what they asked. But if you come alone, I’m sure they won’t ask questions. I understand that life with your mom home hasn’t been great.” 

“I know that I’ll come. My mom will probably want to come as well. Janus, I’m not sure about him. He likes you, but going with my mom doesn’t sound like a good idea. They could start fighting again. Can I text you in like, five minutes, telling you who’s coming?” Virgil asked.

“Of course.” Logan heard Virgil hang out the phone and he stared at the now blank screen. He couldn’t believe that he had called over something so small. But Virgil didn’t seem stressed out about it, so Logan told himself that it wasn’t a big deal.

A moment later, Logan’s phone pinged. He looked at the screen and saw Virgil’s name. He opened the phone and read the text.

“My mom will be coming with me. Janus wants to stay home. I hope that’s okay.” 

Logan began to type his response. “That’s great. My family usually eats dinner around 6 pm. Does that work for you guys?” He pressed send and stared at the screen as he waited.

“We’ll be there” was Virgil’s reply. Janus sent him the address and then went downstairs to inform his parents. 

* * *

As Logan was helping his mother set the table, he heard the doorbell ring. 

“You two finish up, I’ll get it,” Logan’s father called from the other room. Logan heard the door open and his father greet Virgil and his mom. He heard Virgil’s mother say hello and thank his father for inviting them. He heard his father let the guests into the house and lead them to the dining room. 

“Hello!” Logan’s mother greeted the guests. “I’m Dot and this is my husband, Larry. You’ve obviously met our son, Logan. Would you like to sit down? Dinner is almost ready.” 

Logan’s father sat down at the head of the table, ready to eat. Logan’s father was a large man, only slightly taller than his wife. His hair was thin and dark, with a small, dark beard on this chin. He wore plain black wire frame glasses. Larry had a similar fashion sense to his wife, wearing a dark purple weather vest and a long sleeve button down underneath. On this vest was a small pin in the colors of the bisexual flag. The pin was barely noticeable against the dark purple of his sweater vest. 

“Victoria darling, would you help me in the kitchen for a minute?” Dot called. Victoria went in and the two mothers chatted as they finished getting dinner ready. Logan watched as Virgil sat down across the table. Virgil looked incredibly tired, indicating that he hadn’t slept much the night before, even though he had fallen asleep at the movies. 

“So, Virgil. How did you and Logan meet again?” Logan’s dad asked, causing Virgil to startle a little bit by the sudden noise of being talked to.

“Dad, I’ve already told you. He’s in the band with Roman’s brother and I went to see their show,” Logan said, hoping that his father wasn’t making Virgil uncomfortable.

“Ah, that’s right.” Logan’s father nodded his head. 

Virgil looked around and his eyes fixated on Larry’s pin. “Excuse me Mr Berry, I don’t want to seem rude, but I couldn’t help but notice your pin. Are you bisexual?” 

Larry nodded. “Yeah, I am. Logan told me that you’re gay, don’t worry, I won’t mention anything. I respect other people’s right to come out to their family on their own time. Also, don’t worry about calling me Mr Berry, we’re pretty informal here. You can call me Larry if you want. Same goes for my wife, she’s pretty chill about people calling her Dot.” 

Virgil nodded. “Okay.” He seemed to relax a little, his shoulders loosened up and he sat much more comfortably in his chair. 

The two mothers walked into the room at that moment, carrying the pasta, meatballs, and garlic bread and setting them on the table. They took their seats and everyone started to eat.

The adults talked about things, such as the weather, work, politics, while the two teens ate in silence. 

“So, Victoria, you have an older son as well? Is he off at college?” Larry asked. The room went dead silent for a second except for the sound of Larry’s fork against his plate. Logan watched as Virgil sank down a little lower into his chair. Victoria cleared her throat before answering. 

“No, he’s still in high school. He’ll be graduating this year. He couldn’t come tonight, he had other plans.” Logan watched as Virgil visibly cringed at his mother’s lie. The conversation moved on as if nothing had happened, which technically, nothing did happen. 

Dinner plates were cleared of food and the mothers took a moment to clear the table. 

“Logan, why don’t you show Virgil your room while we wait for the desert?” Dot said. “I’m making brownies but they won’t be done for another half-hour.” She turned to Victoria. “I hope you don’t mind waiting that long for brownies. But we completely understand if you’d rather go home.” 

“No, brownies sound lovely. Thank you.” Victoria smiled. 

Logan grabbed Virgil’s sleeve and pulled him away from the table, away from his mother. He guided Virgil to his room and didn’t turn to face his friend until they were in the room and the door was closed.

“Are you okay?” Logan asked. “You look utterly exhausted, I saw how uncomfortable you were when my dad asked about Janus, and don’t even get me started on the fact that you physically reacted to your mom lying about your brother.” 

Virgil wrapped his hoodie tightly around his shoulders, an act that Logan had come to realize meant that he was slightly uncomfortable. 

“I just want to make sure you’re okay. If your mom is causing you anxiety or pain, I want to help. I know my parents will physically fist fight her if they knew what she said to Janus, don’t worry, Patton told me about last night. But if you need to, you can crash here, my parents won’t mind. I’m your friend Virgil, I want to help if I can.” 

The hoodie got pulled a little closer to Virgil’s chest as he sat down on the bed. “I’ll be fine, I promise. But Janus, I don’t know. He always looks out for me, but I can’t do the same for him. Last night, I couldn’t sleep because I was just so anxious about what he was going to do if he has to deal with my mom being homophobic again. Last night was the most stressed I’ve ever seen him. And then she lies about the fact that she told him he wasn’t allowed to come because she wanted some space from him? I want to help him, but I don’t know what to do.” 

Logan sat down on the bed next to Virgil. “Hurting yourself by not sleeping and causing anxiety won’t help him. I wish I could say more, but I’m no therapist. Just,” Logan paused for a moment, thinking of what to say. “Just take care of yourself so that you aren’t a wreck and can help him when the time comes.”

Virgil’s grip around the hoodie loosened. “You’re right. I know you’re right. It’s just taking a moment for my brain to realize that.” Virgil leaned his shoulder into Logan’s shoulder, almost like he was using Logan to support himself physically. 

Virgil took a good look around the room for the first time since entering. The entire place was neat and clean, the desk was organized. The room’s walls were painted a deep shade of blue, reminding Virgil of the bottom of the sea. But the thing that really caught Virgil’s eyes were the two flags hanging on the wall. One of them was the pansexual flag, with pink, yellow, and blue stripes. The other was the asexual flag, with purple, black, white, and grey stripes. 

“You’re pan-ace?” Virgil asked, the words leaving his mouth before he realized that he was even thinking them. Logan looked up at the flags and nodded.

“Yeah. Patton bought me those flags when I first came out about a year ago. And with my dad being bisexual, my parents were super supportive of me. I’ve been meaning to get a black ring, some asexual people use them to tell others that they’re ace. But I’m hopeless at jewelry shopping and my mother isn’t really interested in jewelry, so she’s just as clueless as I am. Roman was supposed to help me, but he never got around to it.” 

“Your house is really nice,” Virgil commented, continuing to look around the room. 

Logan didn’t miss the subject change, but he decided to let it go. With Janus not being accepted by their mother, coming out and being accepted was probably a hard topic for Virgil and Logan didn’t want to cause any sort of pain to his friend.

“Yeah, I guess. I don’t spend a lot of time at home these days. I’m mostly at the library or with my friends.”

“With your family and your house, I’d never leave.” 

“Virgil, Logan! Brownies are done! You two coming down?” The two boys heard Logan’s mom yell from the bottom of the stairs.

“You sure that you’re okay?” Logan asked before they left the room. 

Virgil nodded. “Yeah. Come on, I could totally eat an entire dish of brownies.” 

* * *

Virgil sat in the front passenger seat of his mother’s car as they drove home. Dot had given them some leftover pasta and meatballs as well as a full tray of brownies to take home with them. 

“Well, wasn’t that fun! They were so nice and they’re son was lovely. I’m glad you became friends with him.” 

“Hm?” Virgil snapped out of his thoughts. “Oh, yeah. Me too.” 

Virgil’s mom looked over at him. “Is everything alright sweetie?” She asked, letting go of the wheel with one hand to run it through his hair. He shied away.

“Yeah, everything is fine. I’m just thinking,” Virgil said, looking out the window. 

“Want to tell me about it?” his mother asked.

“It’s nothing really. I’m just thinking about music,” Virgil lied. What he had actually been thinking about how at peace he felt when he was sitting next to Logan in Logan’s room, leaning slightly on him. The pressure of Logan’s arm against his own was a sort of anchor, because Virgil could tell that he was spiraling into an anxiety attack when he was worrying about his brother. But with Logan there, he felt calm. 

The flags were also front and center in Virgil’s mind. Logan was living his best life, out and proud, with a supportive family and friends. Virgil couldn’t help but envy that just a tiny bit. 

There was a small tingling in Virgil’s stomach when he thought about Logan that he was trying to ignore. He knew what the tingling sensation meant, but he couldn’t actually be interesting in Logan, could he? Virgil mused over his friendship with Logan. Sure, they were really good friends. Yes, Logan had given him a jacket, had helped him through anxiety attacks and depression, and even let him use his lap as a pillow, but that meant nothing. Virgil had watched Patton and Roman cuddle and share things even though they weren’t romantically involved. Logan must be like them, overly affectionate. Plus, those had been times when Virgil really needed something, Logan was just looking out for him. Other times, Logan seemed to have these boundaries at all other times, respecting Virgil’s inability to handle certain situations well. Logan was just a friend, and the tingling sensation would eventually go away.

Or, that’s what Virgil told himself, and that’s what he wanted to believe. Part of him kept screaming it was a lie, but he didn’t want to believe that other part. He saw the way his mother reacted to Patton and Janus dating, he couldn’t let her find out about him being gay as well. He needed to shut these feelings down before his mother found out. 

As his mind was thinking at the speed of light, analyzing his emotions and Logan’s actions, Virgil’s mother pulled up into their driveway and stopped the car. Virgil climbed out, carrying the food while his mother walked ahead to unlock the front door.

Virgil’s mother turned the key and opened the door. The living room was empty, and Victoria went and sat on the couch. 

“Virgil sweetie, would you go check on your brother? He’s probably in his room. Tell him to come out and get some food before I put it in the fridge,” she said as she turned on the tv.

Virgil set the food down on the kitchen counter and headed down the hall. He got to Janus’ door and opened it, going inside the room quickly so that he could escape his mother. 

Virgil closed the door as quietly as possible, for what reason he didn’t exactly know why. But as he turned to face the inside of the room, he was at a loss for words as he took in the scene. 

Janus was sitting on the floor, holding his phone and watching a video. But what was shocking about the scene was the boy sitting in his lap and nuzzling his face against Janus’ shoulder. 

“What the actual fuck,” Virgil said, startling the two boys. 

“Virgil!” Janus said, his face covered in shock. 

Virgil looked at his brother. “Why is Patton here?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! (And that cliffhanger! :D)  
> I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, especially the bedroom scene! Logan is pan-ace in my fic, it just really fits him. I was originally going to keep them all gay, because they're canonly gay, but I felt like it would be nice to have some diversity instead. And yes, I did make Dot and Larry from Cartoon Therapy Logan's parents.  
> This chapter marks what I believe is approximately the half way point of this fic. I didn't plan for an exact number of chapters, but I do have the main plot already timelined and at this point, we are at the middle. I am happy to announce that I do have a basic plot line for a sequel fic, but I'm still devoting most of my time to this one.  
> Thank you to my friends Alexis, Jade, and Dee for letting me run ideas by them and listening to me brainstorm/rant. Without friends like that, this story would be a lot less interesting and would probably never get finished.  
> Thank you so much for reading!  
> Much love and gratitude,  
> Turtle <3


	12. "We Aren't In A Spy Movie You."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil helps sneak Patton out of the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a short chapter, but I really wanted to write some platonic Moxiety. So here you go. I don't think there are any warnings in this chapter.

“Why is Patton here?” Virgil asked a second time when his brother did not answer immediately.

“Well, he is my boyfriend,” Janus said from his seat on the floor. “We were hanging out while you and mom were gone.” Patton quietly slipped off of Janus’ lap and sat down next to him instead. Virgil noticed how Patton slipped his small hand into Janus’ much bigger hand.

“What if it was mom and not me who walked through that door?” Virgil asked.

“Please, like mom would care enough about me to fetch me herself,” Janus rolled his eyes.

“Janus, I’m being serious. Last night was not fun to witness, I can only imagine how much less fun it was for you. I think we all can agree that last night should not be repeated, and if mom had walked through that door instead of me, that is exactly what would have happened.” Virgil ran his hands through his hair, frustrated. 

“He’s right Jan,” Patton said, giving his boyfriend’s hand a squeeze. “Your mom would throw a fit. We need to be more careful.” 

“You could have texted me that you were on your way home, that way I had time,” Janus grumbled. 

“And how was I supposed to know to text you?” Virgil asked. “Look, if you have your boyfriend over while mom is gone again, let me know so I can warn you if I’m with her.”

Patton stood up, his hand still intertwined with Janus’. “I should probably go home now,” he said.

“You can’t go out the front door. Mom’s on the couch. Look, she expects Janus to come out and eat dinner any minute now. Janus, you should go there so that she doesn’t suspect anything. I’ll get Patton out of here,” Virgil said.

“Really?” Janus asked. 

“I wouldn’t have suggested it if I didn’t mean it.” 

“Okay then.” Janus turned to his boyfriend.

“See you tomorrow at school. Text me when you get home,” He said. Patton nodded and then grabbed Janus’ face and gave him a quick kiss.

“I love you Janus. Be careful with your mom,” he said. 

Janus blushed and left the room, making a big show of closing the door and saying hello to his mother. Virgil waited a moment before turning to Patton.

“Now we have to find a way to get you out of the house without my mom seeing you.” Virgil thought for a moment. There was the back door, but that was connected to his mother’s room and she’d hear them go into her room. The garage was out of the question, as that was connected to the kitchen, which was in his mother’s line of sight. That left one option.

“How do you feel about climbing out of a window. The ground is just a few feet under the window, so it’s not like you’re jumping from a second story,” Virgil said, walking over to Janus’ window and opening it.

“Is there no other way out?” Patton asked, adjusting his glasses. 

“Not if you don’t want to get caught,” Virgil replied. He stood at the window for a moment, struggling to pop off the screen. Patton walked over and popped it off easily on the first try. Even though the older boy was barely taller than Virgil, he was clearly much stronger. 

“Okay then. I guess we just climb out,” Virgil said.

“But then you’ll have to climb back into the house, and that will be much harder than climbing out,” Patton pointed out.

“I’ll find a way. I just need to make sure that you can leave without my mom seeing you.” 

Patton climbed up onto the window sill and jumped to the ground, barely catching himself and landing on his feet. Virgil followed him and hopped to the ground. As his feet touched the grass, he lost his balance and went face first into the dirt. Patton helped him up. 

“You okay dude?” Patton asked as Virgil wiped dirt off of his face. 

“Yeah, I’m good. A little dirt never hurt anyone. 

Okay, so to get to the front of the house, we have to pass a window which views the living room. It’s in my mom’s line of sight, so we have to stay low. Once we pass that window, we’re good.” 

“How do you know how to sneak out? You haven’t done this before, have you?” Patton asked.

“It’s a bit complicated,” Virgil said.

“Virgil, are you okay?” 

Virgil sighed. “It’s nothing that bad. When we first moved to this house, I was pretty young. If I got overly stressed over almost anything, I’d sneak out and go back to the house we lived in before. Just so that I can sit on the porch. It calmed me down. Janus found out and convinced my mom to get the screens on the window, so that I couldn’t sneak out. He knew I wasn’t strong enough to pop one out.”

“When did he get them installed? When did you stop running away?” Patton asked.

“About this time last year,” Virgil admitted. 

“Do you still think about running back to the house sometimes?” Patton asked. Virgil was quiet for a moment.

“We should get you out of here, before my mom wonders what I’m up to.” Virgil started off towards the window, but Patton grabbed his arm.

“Do you still think about running back to the house sometimes?” Patton repeated the question. Virgil pulled his hoodie around himself and stared at his feet.

“All the time. But I don’t, so can we get this over with?” Virgil pulled away from Patton and turned around, headed towards the front of the house. 

Patton thought for a minute, wondering if he could do anything to cheer Virgil up. Suddenly, it hit him and he began to hum the Mission Impossible theme song. He crouched and began to act as if he was a spy.

“What are you doing? We aren’t in a spy movie you know?” Virgil asked as he watched Patton ninja roll on the ground. 

“I know,” Patton said. “But I thought it would be fun. I’ve never snuck out of a house before. My dads are really chill, so I have never had to worry about having to sneak out or hide anything from them.” 

Patton ninja rolled right under the window that Virgil had warned him about. He had passed unseen. Patton motioned for Virgil to do the same, so Virgil got down and rolled. His role was not nearly as smooth as Patton’s had looked, but he had passed unseen, so it was a success. 

They got the driveway and stood there for a moment. 

“Wasn’t that fun?” Patton asked, straightening his glasses. 

Virgil laughed a little. “Yeah, I guess it was fun. Hey, can I ask a super big favor of you?” 

Patton smiled. “Of course, what’s up?” 

“I was just hoping that you wouldn’t tell Janus that I told you about the old house. He doesn’t know that I still want to go back there sometimes, even if I don’t. I just, I want him to think that I’m happy here, because I am. I just miss the old days I guess.” 

Patton placed his hand on Virgil’s shoulder in a sort of reassuring manner. “If you don’t plan on telling him, I don’t see why it’s my business to tell him. But if you need anything, let me know. Text me or something.” Patton wrapped the younger boy in a quick hug before turning and jogging down the driveway. He stopped at the sidewalk to wave at Virgil before heading home. 

Virgil turned back and headed around the house the way he came. He couldn’t just walk through the front door, because then his mom would ask questions. So he headed back around, ninja rolling under the living room window. 

When he got to Janus’ bedroom window, he went to the back of the house and got an old crate from an art project Janus had started a few years back and never finished. He carried it around and used to climb back up into the house. As he stepped off of the window still and onto the floor, Janus walked into the room.

“Is Patton gone?” Janus asked, shoving the screen back in place. It didn’t fit perfectly back in, instead it hung there a little loose.

“Yeah, he’s gone. I got him to the driveway. We had to go under that big window in the living room, but I don’t think mom saw us.” Virgil closed the window and sat down on Janus’s bed. 

“So, want to tell me about how dinner was with Logan and mom?” Janus asked, sitting next to his brother. Virgil told Janus about dinner, leaving out the part where Janus was mentioned. He didn’t want to cause more trouble and division in the family, so he had decided it was best if Janus just didn’t know. 

As he told Janus about talking to Logan in his bedroom, he began to smile, feeling that strange tingling feeling in his stomach.

“You like him,” Janus said, interrupting Virgil’s story.

“What?” Virgil asked, a little confused.

“You like Logan. It’s pretty obvious. Although I doubt Logan has noticed, he’s pretty clueless when it comes to emotions. But yeah, you like him.” 

“I do not!” Virgil said, turning a bright shade of pink and shoving his brother away from him.

“Whatever you say Virge. Let me know when you’re done lying to yourself,” Janus said, sticking out his tongue playfully. 

Virgil remembered his thoughts from the car. Did he like Logan? Emotions were so confusing, it was so hard to understand what he was feeling.

“Okay, maybe I do like him, but just a little bit. I don’t even know if that’s what I feel,” Virgil said. 

“Sure, just a little bit.” Janus rolled his eyes. 

“Besides, I don’t even know if he likes me back, so it doesn’t matter.” 

“Whatever you say, my darling little brother. My hopelessly gay little brother,” Janus teased. “Whatever you say.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!  
> I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! It was a lot of fun to sit down and write!   
> I don't have that many notes on this, so I'll just say my thanks to the people who listened to my ideas. These people are Jade, Dee, and Alexis. I couldn't write this story without their input and suggestions.   
> Much love and gratitude,  
> Turtle <3


	13. Makeup Can Turn A Smart Boy Into A Simp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Janus does Virgil's makeup and Logan has lots of feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some warnings: some sexual talk, cursing, rude hand gestures

“Virgil, we have band practice tomorrow night,” Janus told his brother Monday evening while they cleaned up after dinner. “Be sure to tell Logan if he still wants to come.” 

Virgil blushed, thinking about his conversation with Janus about Logan last night. Last nights’ realization about Virgil’s emotions concerning a certain glasses wearing guy had made Virgil feel very self conscious about almost everything. Especially when he was around Logan. At school, Virgil had analyzed every small action he had taken in hopes that he wouldn’t look dumb in front of Logan, or offend Logan, or drive Logan away from him. Virgil knew that he was definitely overthinking it, but he couldn’t shut it off.

He had barely made it back home without dying of embarrassment. On the drive home, Janus had asked him about his day, and Virgil immediately sighed and turned towards the window, facing away from his brother. After a lot of coaxing and Janus stopping the car and locking the doors until Virgil opened up, Janus heard all about Virgil’s string of embarrassing events and worries. 

“You didn’t actually trip during lunch, did you?” Janus had asked him. Virgil showed him the bits of ketchup that were still in his hair to prove that he indeed had fallen.

“And you actually landed right into Remus’ lap? How did I miss this?” Janus laughed, earning a glare from his younger brother.

They got home and Virgil immediately went to clean up the ketchup before dinner. Dinner itself was quiet and calm, their mom talking about how she was still getting used to working in an office and how she didn’t like the coworker that had the desk across from her. Virgil and Janus just nodded their heads, agreeing with everything she asked them. 

Now, they were cleaning up dinner. Janus reminded Virgil of band rehearsals. 

“I don’t know if I should invite him, you know, after today. I don’t want to look like an idiot again,” Virgil mumbled into the plate he was cleaning. 

“Nonsense. He comes because I need him in case of an emergency.” Virgil pretended that he didn’t know that Janus’ “emergency” was Virgil having a panic attack. But Virgil knew that Janus meant well and that Logan had been helpful in the past. Plus, having him around usually did calm Virgil down. Virgil was just overthinking it because of his crush on Logan. 

“Fine, I’ll text him. But I can’t promise that he’ll come. He might be busy.” 

Janus rolled his eyes. “If he’s too busy to come and support you, then the world must be ending.” 

“What is that supposed to mean?” Virgil asked.

Janus raised an eyebrow. “You know exactly what I mean.” Virgil held his middle finger up to his older brother, who just smiled back at Virgil. 

Virgil finished up with the dishes and went to his room, sitting at his desk. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and texted Logan, informing him of the upcoming band practice. A few moments later, Virgil received Logan’s reply, saying that he’d be there. 

Virgil set his phone down and looked around the room. A sense of extreme exhaustion washed over him and he flopped onto his bed, passing out almost immediately. 

* * *

Virgil woke up early the next day, feeling well rested and better than he had in a long while. He took his meds and got dressed quickly. He wondered what to do with his free time before he had to leave for school. Virgil sat down on the floor in front of his mirror, getting ready to apply his eyeliner. As he uncapped the eyeliner pen, an idea popped into his head and recapped the pen. 

“Janus?” Virgil called, hoping his brother could hear him through the closed door. He knew that Janus would be awake, he was always up early. A few minutes later, he heard the door open and saw Janus peek his head into the room through the reflection of the mirror. 

“Is everything okay Virge?” Janus asked.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. I was just wondering if you,” he paused for a minute, as if reconsidering what he was about to ask. “I was wondering if you would do my hair and makeup.” 

Janus walked all the way into the room, closing the door behind him. “Why do you want me to do it? You never let me do your makeup, it took a lot of coaxing to let me teach you to use eyeliner.” 

Virgil shrugged his shoulders. “I just felt like it. Plus I thought you would enjoy it. You love makeup.” Janus smiled and held up a finger, indicating for Virgil to give him a moment. He left the room and came back carrying a large makeup case, where Janus held all of his cosmetic supplies. 

Janus sat down on the floor next to Virgil and popped open the case, revealing more makeup than Virgil had ever seen in his life. It was like Janus had an entire aisle of makeup supplies from a store. There were several palettes of eye shadow, multiple shades of blush, different colored eyeliners, and more makeup brushes than Virgil cared to count.

“So, we should start with your hair. Do you have a certain style in particular?” Janus asked, grabbing out one of his hairbrushes.

“Not really. I guess I’m giving you complete creative reign over my face and hair tonight. I’m clueless when it comes to this type of stuff, so I trust you.” 

Janus clicked his tongue. “That, my dear little brother, is a mistake. But I thank you for trusting me and I promise to not disappoint. I’ll try to keep it simple since we do have school today and I can’t spend all my time on this.” Janus ran the brush through Virgil’s hair, doing it in sections and counting to a hundred under his breath. Virgil assumed he was counting how many times he ran the brush through Virgil’s hair before moving on to the next section. It was slightly tedious for Virgil, but he sat as still as possible and waited patiently. 

“Okay, I’m done with your hair. Ah! Don’t look yet! I want you to see yourself once I am completely done!” Janus grabbed Virgil’s face and held it in his hand, studying it as if he was analyzing a painting. 

“What are you doing?” Virgil asked through squished cheeks. 

“Thinking. Now stop talking so that I can work,” Janus said, letting go of Virgil face and rummaging through his makeup kit for a particular foundation.

“I haven’t used this tone yet, since it’s too pale for me. But it will work perfectly for you. This way we can cover up those bags under your eyes. We can’t let people know you don’t sleep, you gremlin.” He pulled out a foundation brush and began to cover Virgil’s face in the cold makeup. Virgil had to keep himself from pulling away whenever Janus put more foundation on a particular spot under Virgil’s eyes.

“Okay now for the eye shadow. Are you sure that you don’t want to pick out the colors? You can choose, ya know.” Janus asked, pulling out three palettes from his collection and showing them to Virgil. Just looking at all the options made him slightly uncomfortable, so he told Janus he trusted him and watched as his brother sorted through all the colors.

“Okay, close your eyes and stay still. I want this to be perfect,” Janus said. Virgil did as he was told and felt the soft bristles of the brush against his eyelids. He heard Janus uncap what he only assumed was an eyeliner pen and felt the familiar feeling of the pen against the rim of his eyelids. 

“Okay, I’m almost done. I just have one question. How do you feel about lipstick?” Janus asked as Virgil opened his eyes.

“Lipstick? I don’t know Jan…” 

“It will totally match the rest of your makeup and I promise you’ll look amazing in it! If you hate it, we can take it off easily, so please let me try it at least,” Janus pleaded. Virgil rolled his eyes and gave him the go ahead. Janus pulled out an unopened thing of black lipstick and ripped it out of its packaging. He instructed Virgil on what to do as he applied the lipstick.

“Okay, you’re done. Look in the mirror.” Virgil turned around and his jaw dropped at least an inch when he saw his reflection.

Virgil’s bright purple hair was pushed up out of his face and tucked behind his ears so that you could see his eyes and forehead. The eyeliner was his usual black, and the lipstick matched perfectly. The eye shadow was a medium shade of purple, vibrant enough that you could easily identify it, and light enough that it didn’t look like Virgil had a black eye. 

“Do you like it? I have makeup wipes if you hate it,” Janus asked.

“Janus, I love it. You made me look so cool!” Virgil continued to admire his brother’s handiwork, noticing how the eye shadow seemed to have a glitter mixed in. 

“I’m such you won’t be the only one admiring it today. Specifically, a certain glasses-wearing best friend of yours,” Janus said, smirking at Virgil through his reflection.

“Oh shut up you drama queen. I already told you that I’m pretty sure he isn’t into me.” Virgil stood up and walked over to his desk to grab his phone. 

“Mind if I take some pictures and post them on my instagram? It would be perfect promoting with the school dances just around the corner. I could use the extra cash and doing girl’s makeup makes a lot of money at this school,” Janus said, grabbing his phone as well.

“I guess it won’t hurt.” Janus walked over and had Virgil close his eyes and then open them again, getting his face from almost every angle. 

“Thanks little bro. I like helping you impress your man,” Janus said, knocking his shoulder into Virgil. 

“I hate you sometimes,” Virgil called as his brother walked out of the room with his packed up makeup case. Janus just flipped him off without turning around or looking back. 

Virgil spent a few more minutes admiring this face before heading out to the kitchen to get breakfast.

“Has Mom already left?” Virgil asked as he made himself a bagel. Janus, who was leaning on the counter, drinking coffee, nodded. 

“Yeah, she won’t be home until this evening. Hopefully she leaves us alone while we’re practicing, but I can’t make any promises. If she wasn’t here, I’d invite Patton to watch, but I don’t want more drama.” Janus took another sip of his coffee as he watched Virgil grab an energy drink out from his horde. 

“Jan, why don’t you wear makeup a lot if you have so much of it?” Virgil asked as he opened the energy drink.

“I wear it everyday, you just don’t notice. I mostly use neutral colors, so that they don’t pop, but every once and awhile, I’ll use a bright shade. Just for fun. And Patton thinks it’s adorable, so I’ve been doing it more when we go on dates.” Janus smiled at his brother. Virgil walked over to Janus and looked a little closer at his face, noticing the small amounts of tan eye shadow and blush. 

“Anyways, we should head out if we’re gonna pick up Remus.” Janus grabbed his car keys and practically dragged his brother towards the door. 

* * *

Logan hopped out of his mother’s car, waving goodbye as he walked towards the high school. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Janus’ car pull into the parking lot and decided he’d go and greet Virgil. As he neared the car, he stopped short, his brain practically short circuiting when he saw Virgil’s face. 

Logan had always thought Virgil looked adorable, but right now? Damn. Right now, Logan could focus on nothing other than the purple surrounding Virgil’s already enchanting eyes. His hair had been pushed out of his face, making him look slightly older. The black lipstick screamed for Logan’s attention, begging to be stared out. 

Before he knew it, Virgil, Remus, and Janus were right in front of him, saying good morning. 

“I told you that your little makeup stunt would make him horny,” Logan heard Remus not-so-subtly say to Janus. Virgil smacked Remus’ shoulder and smiled at Logan.

“Good morning Logan!” He said, slightly more cheerful than he usually was. 

“Good morning Virgil,” Logan said, clearing his throat. “You seem really happy today.” 

Virgil shrugged. “I just woke up on the right side of the bed I guess.” He smiled in a way that made Logan want to melt, but he held himself together. He reminded himself that he was respecting Virgil’s boundaries and that Virgil just needed a friend. Besides, Logan probably wasn’t even Virgil’s type, whatever his type was. 

“Anyways, let’s get to class, so that we won’t be late,” Logan said, turning around and leading the way. As he walked, he felt Remus brush against his shoulder and whisper something in his ear.

“You might want to hold a book in front of your pants horny boy. We can’t let Virgil know you’re into him, now can we?” Logan resisted the urge to growl as he watched Remus skip away. He checked to make sure that Virgil wasn’t close enough to hear what Remus had said. Thankfully, he wasn’t. 

* * *

Throughout the day, Virgil got a mix of stares and compliments. Of course, there was the occasional “guys shouldn’t wear makeup” and “what a fucking queer,” but he did his best to ignore them and not let them bother him. 

“Logan really likes your makeup, he told me so,” Virgil heard a voice from behind him, scaring him half to death. He turned around and was practically face to face with Roman Prince, Remus’ twin.

“God Roman, don’t scare me like that. I thought you were Remus.” 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. But back to what I was saying. Continue to pull stunts like this and you’ll have Logan in no time. He’s already fallen off the deep end, you’re just throwing him into the ocean now.” Roman smiled.

“I’m sorry, what do you mean?” Virgil asked, pretending he didn’t understand what Roman was saying. Roman had to be lying to him.

Roman rolled his eyes. “God, you’re more of a useless gay than he is. Well, let me spell it out for you sweetie. Logan is into you, a lot. But he won’t say anything because he’s too afraid that you aren’t interested in him. He thinks he’s better as a ‘supportive friend’ than as a potential boyfriend. Honestly, I find this whole ‘pining for each other’ thing you two have going on total bullshit. But you do you I guess. Just, don’t leave him hanging for too long, okay My Chemical Romance? I just want what’s best for my friend.” Roman walked away, leaving Virgil speechless. Did Roman just threaten him if he hurt Logan? And did Roman just tell him that Logan was actually into him? This had to be another one of Remus’ annoying tricks in order to get Virgil to make a fool of himself in front of some guy. 

Virgil made his way to the cafeteria to eat lunch, when he practically ran into Logan’s shoulder. He went toppling to the ground, his books flying out of his backpack.

“Oh my god, Virgil, I’m so sorry.” Logan got down on the floor to help him clean up his books. “Are you okay?” 

Virgil got up with the help of Logan, feeling the heat of Logan’s hand holding his as he was pulled up. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve taken worse tumbles.” Virgil pulled his hand away, wiping the sweat of his palms onto his pants and internally wishing that Logan hadn’t noticed.

“Want me to walk you to lunch? It’s the least I can do for sending you flying to the ground,” Logan said, still holding Virgil’s books. 

“Sure, that'll be cool,” Virgil said, holding out his bag so that Logan could throw the books in there. To his surprise, Logan placed the books in the backpack and then practically ripped it out of Virgil’s hands.

“I can carry my own bag you know,” Virgil said.

“Well, let’s just say that I feel really bad for knocking you down. And walking you to lunch, which was where I was headed in the first place, seems like a cheap way to repay you.” 

“You don’t have to worry about it, you know. I said that I’m fine.”

“Just, let me okay? No arguing.” Logan walked beside Virgil, carrying his backpack as Virgil walked beside him, burdenless. 

“I don’t think I’ve told you this, but your makeup looks amazing,” Logan said, breaking the silence between them. Virgil remembered what Roman had said just a few minutes ago, but quickly shoved the thought to the back of his mind. 

“You should really tell that to Janus. He’s the artist in charge of the entire look.” 

“Well,” Logan said. “A painting is only good if it’s on a good canvas. I may not know much about art, but I do know that.” He smiled at Virgil, which caused Virgil to melt a little inside. 

“Thanks,” Virgil mumbled, staring straight ahead so that he wouldn’t embarrass himself. As he walked forward, he could feel Logan’s eyes watching him. What he didn’t see was the complete look of adoration that covered Logan’s face, completely unmasked. 

* * *

“Our dear friend Logan has turned into a complete simp,” Roman said. School was over and Roman, Patton, and Logan were headed to Roman’s car. 

“I have not!” Logan said. 

“Please, I saw the way you looked at Virgil, with his bright purple eye shadow in the hallway. You’re a simp and you know it. You’d let him step on you without hesitation,” Roman said. 

“Patton, back me up here,” Logan pleaded.

“I’m sorry Lo, but I saw the exact same thing that Roman saw. And while I would have left out the stepping on people part, I really agree. You’ve fallen hard.” 

“Just admit it. You’re crushing super fucking hard on Virgil Black.” Roman nudged Logan. 

“If I say it, will you leave me alone and stop calling me a simp?” Logan asked.

“Afraid I can’t promise the last part because, let’s be honest, you’re a fucking simp. But I will drop the subject unless you do something really gay.” Roman held up his hand, as if swearing in front of a coart. Patton held up his pinky as if to pinky promise and Logan grabbed it.

“Fine, yes I’m super into Virgil. Yes, his makeup today was adorable. No, I am not a simp. And before you ask, Remus is wrong, I am not horny. Remus can go fuck himself, he’s horny enough for the entire school.” Roman rolled his eyes at that and Patton made a gagging sound.

“Where am I dropping you off?” Roman asked Logan.

“Virgil’s place, they’re having band practice and I’m going to be there in case he has another anxiety attack or just needs to calm down.” 

“Mhm, sure sweetie. You’re totally not going over there so that you can stare at Virgil as he acts all sexy with his bass,” Roman said, climbing into the car. 

“Roman, your face looks really punchable right now,” Logan said, climbing into the car. 

“Oh don’t even start with me you simp. We all know that you don’t approve of violence,” Roman said, starting the car. 

“Shut up,” Logan spat back. 

“Simp.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!  
> So, this chapter sort of had a mind of it's own. What originally started out as a single self-indulgent paragraph turned into a self-indulgent chapter before I even realized it. Totally messed with my plot schedule, but that's fine. It's not like I have actually been super dedicated to the main plot line.   
> Yes, Virgil looks absolutely stunning in makeup and you can't blame Logan for having feelings when he sees him.   
> Since it was a short, fluffy chapter, I don't have that many notes, so all I can say is that I hope you enjoyed it!  
> Much love and gratitude,   
> Turtle <3


	14. Nobody Said That Band Practice Can’t Be Dramatic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Others have a band practice, and are interrupted by an unwanted "assistant"

Virgil sat in the backseat of Janus’ car, listening to his music as Remus and Janus chatted in the front seat. He wasn’t paying attention to their conversation until he heard Logan’s name mentioned. 

“Poor Logan, I’ve never seen a boy so horny before in my entire life,” Remus was saying. Virgil griminced, getting annoyed with Remus’ constant inappropriate comments.

“Obviously you’ve never seen a mirror, otherwise you’d know that you deserve the title of horniest boy. Besides, I specifically told you to leave him alone. Please tell me that you didn’t give the poor boy a hard time,” Janus was saying. It was clear that neither of the older boys knew that Virgil was listening. 

“Did you see the way he stared at your little brother throughout the day? I’m almost certain I saw some drool at one point.” Virgil watched as Janus momentarily stopped watching the road to turn and smack Remus upside the head.

“Seriously man, do you not know when to shut up?” Janus asked. “What is your problem man?” 

Remus just shrugged his shoulders and went on talking, luckily he had changed the subject to some prank he planned to pull on his twin after a fight they had. Virgil relaxed back down into his seat, losing interest in the conversation. 

They arrived at the house and headed inside to set up the music gear in the living room. Just a few moments after they arrived, the doorbell ring, signaling that Logan had arrived.

“I’ll get it!” Remus called, before Janus grabbed his arm and held him back.

“Virgil, would you please get the door and let Logan inside before Remus has a chance to say anything that might drive him away?” Janus asked. Virgil nodded and headed to the door. He opened it and let Logan inside.

Logan headed to his usual spot on the couch, where he would sit and study and watch, just an arm’s reach away if Virgil needed him. He pulled out a book and began to read, but his focus was obviously not on the pages. He kept stealing glances at Virgil and his makeup. 

The band practiced up until 6, when the pizza that Janus had ordered arrived. They took a break for dinner, Virgil and Logan sitting next to each other and talking about a book they had been reading for school. 

After they had finished eating, Janus summoned his band members.

“Okay, so I have a gig set up for us two weeks from now. It’s not as big as our last one, but it’s still pretty big for a local band to get. Two weeks may feel like a lot of time, but we still have school and stuff, so I want us to practice as much as possible. Does that seem reasonable.” Remus nodded enthusiastically. Virgil agreed, just without the excitement of his two band members.

“Okay, maybe we can continue rehearsing?” Janus suggested. The three of them headed back to their instruments and began discussing the chorus for a new song they were trying out.

While they were busy talking, none of them noticed the sound of a key in the front door and the door opening. None of them saw Victoria, Virgil and Janus’ mother, walk through the door. They weren’t expecting her to come home for another hour, and yet here she was.

“What’s going on here? Is there a party that I wasn’t invited to?” She asked, startling everybody in the room.

“Mom!” Janus said, surprised. “No party, just some band rehearsals. We’re almost done, so you don’t have to worry about us.” 

“Nonsense! I’d love to watch you guys practice. Just pretend I’m not here,” she said, grabbing a leftover slice of pizza and sitting on the couch next to Logan. 

Virgil heard his older brother mumble something under his breath, but he couldn’t make out what he was saying. Knowing Janus though, it was probably a string of profanities aimed at his mother. 

“Okay, let’s start the song from the top,” Janus said. Remus began playing the beat on the drums and after a few seconds, Virgil joined in, followed by Janus. They were only a few seconds into the song when Victoria stopped them.

“I don’t want to get in the way of your creative process, but I have a few notes that might help you make your music better,” She said, standing up and walking over to Janus.

“I think the obvious place to start is with your posture, young man. You should stand straighter and not look down so much. It will look much better on stage, you want to interact with the crowd.” 

“I need to look at my guitar so that I play the right chords. And how does the way I stand matter?” Victoria shushed her son, placing a single finger on his lips and continuing her ‘suggestions.’

“Now that I think about it, wouldn’t it be better if Virgil was center stage? He’s the smallest of you three, so he should be the most visible. Virgil, bring your bass over here and let me rearrange you guys.” 

Virgil looked at his brother, waiting for instructions.

“Now Virgil, I will not repeat myself,” his mother said. Janus nodded, telepathically telling his younger brother to just go along with whatever their mother said, they could change it back later.

Virgil moved his gear to where his mother pointed.

“See, isn’t this much better?” She said. She turned to face Virgil, getting her first good look at his face.

“Virgil, darling, why are you wearing makeup?” she asked. 

“Um, I let Janus do my makeup and hair this morning. I thought it would be nice,” Virgil said, shrinking a little into his hoodie.

Victoria shook her head, clearly disappointed. “Makeup was not meant for men, you should go take it off, right now.” 

“Mother, we literally have half an hour before Remus has to leave, can Virgil take it off afterwards? That way we can finish?” Janus asked, his voice laced with venom that his mother did not seem to pick up on.

She sighed. “I guess, since it will take so much time to get that much makeup off of his face. God, you look like a drag queen. Don’t do that again please.” She went and threw herself on the couch dramatically. She watched as Remus started the song from the beginning, her focus solely on Virgil.

Virgil’s mind raced a mile a minute, thinking about his mother and her comments. His fingers could barely move for anxiety as he struggled to play the bass and keep up with the song. He didn’t even realize that the other’s had stops playing until he felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up.

“You okay dude? I think you need a break,” Logan said, his hand still on Virgil’s shoulder.

“Nonsense,” Victoria said, completely unaware of what Virgil was obviously feeling. “They only have half an hour left, right? If Virgil doesn’t have time to take off the stupid makeup, then he doesn’t have time to relax. Start the song over, I want to hear it.” 

“Mom, Virgil isn’t taking a break to relax,” Janus said, gently pulling the bass out of Virgil’s hands and pulled the strap over his head. “Just give him a moment.” 

Virgil looked around, realizing that he was causing problems. “No, we can keep playing, I’m fine, I promise. Give me my bass back, we should at least finish the song.” 

“Virgil, you shouldn’t do that,” Logan said, grabbing Virgil’s hand and pulling him away from the instrument. “You spaced out, I don’t think you even could hear the music. I’ve done a bit of reading since last time, and you were spiraling. Just, sit down, drink some water. Remus and Janus can practice without you for a moment.”

Victoria stood up. “I don’t see what this is all about, Virgil looked fine to me.”

Janus set down his guitar and walked over to his mother, getting a little too close to her. He was clearly pissed off. “You were pushing him to take center stage, which is the worst place to put him because then all of the attention is on him. You get upset at him for wearing makeup, which there is nothing wrong with him doing so. And then you zero in on him when we try to practice. You’re causing him to feel anxious. If you really want us to practice, I say that you need to leave the room so that we can focus. Last I checked, this is our band and we didn’t ask you to become our manager.” 

“I am not making my son anxious. And how dare you talk to me like that?” Victoria stepped closer, completely ready to fight her son. 

“I think we should go,” Remus said to Logan, indicating towards the front door. “Roman will be here any minute, we should wait outside and he can give you a ride home.” Logan was slightly surprised to see Remus not be his troubling self for a moment, but it made sense that he would try to be unproblematic in this situation.

Logan looked over at Virgil, who was sitting on the couch, his head in his hands, listening to the argument, and taking every word to heart. 

“Yeah, I’ll meet you outside in a minute, I just have to do something first,” Logan said to Remus before coming and sitting next to Virgil.

“You’re coming home with me,” he said matter-of-factly. Virgil looked up. His makeup had gotten smeared, and Logan noticed the tears forming in the corner of Virgil’s eyes.

“Grab your meds, your backpack, and a set of clothes for tomorrow. You’ll spend the night at my house and I’ll take you to school tomorrow.” 

“I can’t just leave,” Virgil said. 

“Yes you can and you are. This isn’t a good place for you right now, not with them yelling. Come on, let’s go grab your stuff from your room.”

Virgil got up and led the way to his room, Logan just a few steps behind him. The last time Logan had been here was when he had helped Janus get Virgil out of bed during his depressive episode. Logan watched as Virgil grabbed his medications from the desk and threw them into a small duffel bag that was hidden under the bed. Virgil grabbed a My Chemical Romance shirt and threw that into the bag, as well as a pair of black jeans. 

“That’s it,” Virgil said, staring into the bag.

“Grab your headphones and phone charger as well. I know music helps you,” Logan said, grabbing Virgil’s school backpack. He watched as Virgil threw those into the duffel bag and swung that over his shoulder.

Logan walked over to his friend and grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together. He could feel the warmth of Virgil’s smaller hand in his, hoping that Virgil didn’t see the blush that crept up Logan’s face. He noted that Virgil had also turned a light shade of pink, but did not verbally comment on it. 

He pulled Virgil out of the room, their hands interlocked. They quietly walked past the two arguing people in the living room and made their way out the front door. Roman’s car was pulled up right in front of the house and the two friends climbed into the backseat.

“Virgil? Shouldn’t you be inside right now?” Roman asked.

“He’s coming home with me tonight. I didn’t think it was a good idea for him to stay while Janus and his mother were arguing,” Logan explained. Roman raised an eyebrow when he saw their hands, but Logan shook his head, silently pleading for him to leave it alone. Roman nodded, understandingly and put the car in drive. 

The car ride was silent, no one said a word. Logan kept hold of Virgil’s hands, expecting him to pull away at any moment, but Virgil never did. If anything, he held onto Logan’s hand tighter, as if it were a lifeline. Logan heard the sound of Virgil, taking deep breaths in and out, focusing on staying calm. 

Roman pulled up in front of the Berry house, parking and turning around.

“You going to be okay?” he asked Virgil. Virgil nodded, gripping Logan’s hand tighter than either one of them thought possible.Logan led the way out of the car and towards the front door, unlocking the door and leading his friend inside.

“Hey mom, dad?” Logan called, taking off his shoes and setting Virgil’s backpack down on the ground. Dot and Larry came into the front room.

“What’s up sweetie?” Dot asked before she saw Virgil, who was practically hiding behind Logan.

“Virgil needs to spend the night here. Things got a little out of hand at his house and I didn’t think it was smart for him to be left alone there. I hope that’s okay.” 

“Of course that’s fine,” Larry said. “Let’s get you set up in the guest room.”

“Actually,” Logan interjected. “I think it would be best if we set up the air mattress in my room. If that’s alright with you guys and Virgil, I mean.” 

Dot and Larry nodded. “We’re fine with that as long as Virgil would prefer that.” 

Virgil nodded. “I’d prefer that.” 

Larry went to set up the air mattress while Dot took Logan and Virgil into the kitchen to give them something to drink.

“Drink this tea honey, it will calm you down,” Dot said, making Virgil a steaming cup and handing it to him. Virgil let go of Logan’s hand so that he could cradle the mug in both hands. 

“Virgil honey, why don’t you take your tea and go into the bathroom in my bedroom. You’ll find some makeup remover there. Clean your face and come back out here once you’re done. By then, Larry should be done setting up the mattress for you.” Virgil did as he was told, taking the mug and heading down the hall.

Dot turned to Logan. “Now you get to tell me what happened. I’ll fill your father in later. But I get the feeling this isn’t something we should talk about in front of Virgil.” 

Logan explained Virgil’s family situation and how Victoria kept criticizing their band and Virgil’s makeup. Logan explained how Virgil had started to shut down and Logan had stepped in to help, which seemed to only make the situation with Victoria worse. By the time he was done with the story, his mother looked about ready to cry, a mix of sad tears and angry tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.

“I can’t believe I liked that woman. I feel so bad for Virgil and Janus, I wish we could do more. I’m glad that you brought him here for tonight, you made the right choice. I’m proud of you sweetie.” 

Virgil came out of the bathroom, his face clean and his mug almost empty.

“Thank you for letting me stay here tonight. I don’t want to be a burden and I know this is incredibly last minute,” Virgil said.

“Nonsense darling. We’re glad we could help.” Dot took the mug from Virgil. “Now, it sounds like Larry is done with the air mattress, so why don’t you two head to bed? There is still school tomorrow you know.” She smiled at the two boys and offered to carry Virgil’s stuff upstairs for him, but he declined.

The two boys headed up the stairs, Logan leading the way. They walked into Logan’s room, where Larry was packing up the air pump. 

“Here you go, one air mattress for you to sleep on. Let us know if you need anything else, okay?” Larry said. Virgil nodded and watched as Logan’s father left the room. 

“So, the bathroom is right across the hall if you want to change into your pajamas or whatever,” Logan said, walking over to his closet.

“I just usually sleep in whatever clothes I’m wearing,” Virgil said, sitting down on the air mattress. 

“Well, okay then. I’ll be right back while I go change,” Logan said, grabbing his pajamas and headed towards the bathroom, his face and ears burning up with embarrassment. He couldn’t believe he felt so awkward with the idea that Virgil would be sleeping just a few feet away.

Logan looked in the mirror, staring at his reflection. “You’re just a supportive friend, letting your friend spend the night to escape a bad family situation. Nothing more. Get your head out of the clouds Logan,” he told his reflection. 

After he had changed and brushed his teeth, he went back into the bedroom. Virgil was still sitting on the mattress, his phone in his hand.

“I texted Janus, telling him where I am, that way he won’t worry. My mom probably won’t even notice I’m gone, she’ll be too busy crying in her room,” Virgil said, staring at his phone. Logan sat down on the mattress next to him.

“I’m sorry Virgil, I know I didn’t help the situation that much,” Logan said. 

“What are you talking about? If it wasn’t for you, things would be a lot worse,” Virgil said, turning to face the other boy. “Thanks Logan.” 

Logan watched as a single tear made it’s way down Virgil’s cheek. “Why are you crying? You’re good here, you don’t have to deal with your mom right now.” 

“I don’t know why, I guess I just needed to cry a bit,” Virgil said, looking slightly embarrassed over the fact that he was crying. Without thinking, Logan reached up to wipe away Virgil’s tear. His hand stiffened when he realized what he was doing, when he realized that he was basically cupping Virgil’s cheek. But Virgil leaned into the hand, almost as if he wanted the attention. 

“Virgil, I-” Logan began to ask but stopped short, thinking better of it. He had wanted to tell Virgil about his crush. Ask Virgil if he felt the same. Ask Virgil if he could kiss him. 

“What is it Logan?” Virgil said. Logan was acutely aware of the warmth of Virgil’s cheek in his hand. Logan’s eyes dropped down to Virgil’s mouth. He could see the tear stains on Virgil’s cheeks. Logan kept telling himself to look away, he was Virgil’s friend and that’s what Virgil needed. Logan didn’t want to ruin that.

As Logan moved his eyes back up Virgil’s face to focus on anything but Virgil’s mouth, he was surprised to see Virgil inching closer to him. Surprised to feel Virgil grab the front of his NASA pajama shirt, surprised to feel Virgil’s mouth touch his.

* * *

Virgil didn’t know what he was doing. He just leaned in, grabbed Logan’s shirt, and kissed him. At first, his mind screamed at him, telling him that Logan would be pissed, but then he remembered what Roman had said earlier. He relaxed when he felt Logan kiss him back, his anxiety about the kiss vanishing, the butterflies in his stomach appearing. 

He pulled away from Logan, his face and ears burning with embarrassment.

“Virgil,” he heard Logan say, barely audible. As if he was just breathing out his name.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know why I did that. I’m dumb.” Virgil buried his face in his hands. Sure, Logan had kissed him back, but it could have just been a spur of the moment reaction, it didn’t really mean anything. 

He felt Logan grab his hands and peel them away from his face. He felt Logan cup his face in his hands, felt him hold his face so that Virgil was looking into Logan’s eyes. Logan’s breathtaking eyes. 

“Virgil, I like you, a lot.” Virgil waited for the ‘but’, but it never came. 

“Really? So I didn’t just ruin our friendship?” Virgil asked. Logan shook his head. 

“You didn’t ruin anything, I promise.” Virgil laughed awkwardly, letting himself melt into Logan’s hands, the tension gone from his body. 

Virgil became aware of the fact that Logan was staring at his mouth again. He inched closer and kissed him again, only this time it was much more gentle, and lasted for about half the time as the first one. 

“We should be sleeping you know,” Logan said. 

“I know. But I don’t know if I can sleep,” Virgil said. 

Logan stood up, climbing onto his bed. Virgil pouted a little on the floor until he saw Logan motion for him to scoot closer. Virgil lay as close as he could without falling off the air mattress. Logan’s hand hung off the bed, fingers spread, indicating that Logan wanted Virgil to take it. Virgil lay down and laced his fingers through Logan’s, smiling like an idiot. 

The two of them fell asleep in the dark silence, their hands intertwined. Virgil slept peacefully, probably better than he had in a long time. After all, he had just kissed the cutest boy he had ever met, and that boy had kissed him back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!  
> Wow! This chapter was a roller coaster of emotions to write! (and i'm sure to read as well.) The first half was incredibly difficult to write because of many reasons. I'm not 100% satisfied with it, but I'm afraid to change it again, for fear of making it worse. (i've tried to change it and we always end up right back here...)  
> that kiss scene was so much fun to write! I had probably three different versions of it and it was just a matter of deciding which I liked more.   
> I want to thank my friends Dee and Alexis for hearing out some of the ideas for this chapter. Without them, this story wouldn't be as interesting and a lot of complex.   
> And thank you guys for reading it and for all the lovely comments! I love hearing your thoughts on the chapter and what small details you picked up on. It makes me so happy! :)  
> Much love and gratitude,   
> Turtle <3


	15. Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan takes Virgil to school the next morning and Janus' new living situation is a bit dramatic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The name of the chapter is actually the name of a movie that is a family favorite. The movie itself has nothing to do with the chapter, I just really liked the title and thought it fit pretty well.   
> I don't think any warnings apply, but please let me know if you notice something warning worthy.

Logan woke up slowly, his hand warm as he felt something loosely grip it. He looked at the floor, and was overjoyed to see Virgil, asleep, holding his hand. The night before was not some crazy dream that Logan had.

He slipped his hand out of Virgil’s, trying to ignore the little sound of dissatisfaction the other boy made in his sleep. He pulled out his phone and texted Roman.

“We kissed.” As Logan sent the message, the two words being so small, but having so much meaning. 

Within seconds, Roman’s reply appeared. “Finally. I thought you two would be in college before that would happen!” 

Logan scoffed under his breath and rolled his eyes. He began typing a new message.

“I want to ask him to be my boyfriend, officially. And I want it to be super romantic, I feel like he deserves it. But I have no idea what to do.” Logan pressed send and waited for a response. 

“Well, you should play to his interests. What is something that he adores and you can use to sweep him off his feet?” Roman’s text read. Logan thought for a moment, but it didn’t take long for him to figure it out.

“He loves music. Maybe I can learn to play a song on the guitar or something. Remember those classes I took a few years ago?” Logan texted. He remembered how frustrated he had gotten with the instrument. But he remembered the basics and thought it’d be worth it, for Virgil. 

“If that’s what you want to do, I wish you luck my friend,” Roman’s reply read. Logan put up his phone and looked down at the sleeping boy on the air mattress. Virgil’s hair was covering most of his face and Logan fought the urge to move it out of the way and kiss his forehead. Instead, he got up as quietly as he could, grabbed a fresh pair of clothes, and tiptoed into the bathroom to get ready for the day. 

As he walked out of the bathroom, he noticed that Virgil was sitting up on the mattress and looking at his phone. Logan knocked on the door frame to get Virgil’s attention before walking into the bedroom.

“Hi,” Virgil said, setting down the phone. Logan came and sat next to him on the air mattress. 

“Good morning,” Logan replied.

“Sooo,” Virgil began, twisting his shirt in his hands. “Last night, that wasn’t just some crazy dream?” His voice quivered, as if he was scared to know the answer.

Logan smiled. “I am happy to inform you that it is not a dream. May I take your hand?” 

“Did you just ask if you could hold my hand?” Virgil asked, smiling.

“I did. I want to ask you because your boundaries are important to me,” Logan said. He watched as Virgil slipped his hand into Logan’s much bigger hand. 

“Logan! Virgil! Are you awake! Please come down for breakfast!” Dot called from downstairs. Logan pulled his hand away from Virgil. 

“You get dressed, I’ll meet you downstairs in a minute.” Virgil nodded and waited for Logan to head down the stairs.

Logan’s mother was waiting at the bottom of the stairs when he came down. “Good morning darling,” she said, hugging him. 

“Good morning mom,” He said back.

“Is Virgil coming downstairs?” Dot asked, poking her head up in case the other boy was coming.

“He will in a few minutes. He’s getting dressed. Mom, I have something to tell you,``Logan said, leading his mother away from the stairs. He told his mother about the night before, and made her promise not to say anything to anyone but Larry. Logan trusted his parents and found a certain comfort in sharing parts of his life with them. Besides, they had listened to him pine over Virgil for a while now, it seemed more than fair that he continued to keep them updated.

“Oh Logan, I knew you two were adorable! I can’t wait to hear this song that you plan to sing!” She said. “Now, come help me get breakfast on the table before your boy comes down stairs and realizes that we were talking about him.” She led Logan into the kitchen, where he helped her finish making the pancakes and placing the bacon on a plate.

A few minutes later, Logan heard the creak of the stairs as Virgil came down them. He walked over and greeted the other boy. 

“We’re about to have breakfast,” Logan said. “Pancakes, eggs, and bacon. Would you like some coffee?” Logan led Virgil to his seat, handing him a plate full of food.

“Um, no I’m good. I don’t usually eat breakfast, and I usually have an energy drink to wake me up,” Virgil admitted.

“You should eat breakfast darling,” Dot said, sitting down across from Virgil. “It’s the most important meal of the day. We can pick you up an energy drink on the way to school if you still feel like you need one.”

Virgil thanks Dot and the three of them began eating. Soon, Larry joined them and sat down with his family, chatting and acting like a real family, something that Virgil was not used to. 

As Logan talked to his father, he felt Virgil’s hand slip into his and squeeze tightly, as if begging to let him hold it for comfort. Logan smiled a little bit and squeezed back. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Virgil relax a little bit, releasing the tension from his shoulders.

The Berry family finished eating their breakfast. Logan noticed that Virgil had eaten probably half of what was on his plate, but he decided not to mention it in front of his parents. They quickly cleaned up and headed out the door, ready for school.

“You two head to the car, I need a moment to find my keys,” Dot said, searching her purse. 

Logan led the way outside, pulling Virgil along. “You didn’t eat breakfast, or you didn’t eat a lot of it. Are you okay? Do you feel ill?” Logan gently pressed his hand on Virgil’s forehead, but he didn’t detect a fever. 

Virgil grabbed Logan’s hand and gently pulled it away from his head. “I just was a little anxious I guess. I’m worried about Janus and my mom. I have to go back home today, I can’t hide at your house forever.” 

“I’m sure you’ll be fine. They’ve had time to cool down and you still have the entire school day before you have to go home. You can call me if things get really bad, but I don’t think you’ll have to.” 

Virgil nodded and they watched as Dot raced out the house, apologizing for taking so long. They stopped at a gas station so that Virgil could go inside and buy an energy drink and then headed off to school. 

* * *

Virgil made his way to Janus’ locker as fast as he could before school started. He had five minutes to talk to his brother and make it to class. But when he got to Janus’ locker, he wasn’t there. Usually, Janus would be right here, either talking to someone, or making out with Patton. 

Virgil sighed and leaned against his brother’s locker. He’d have to leave for class in a moment if Janus didn’t show up.

“Virgil? What are you doing at your brother’s locker?” A voice behind him said. Virgil turned and was greeted by Janus’ happy-go-lucky boyfriend, Patton. 

“I needed to talk to him, but he’s not here. Do you know where he is?” 

Patton’s smile dropped from his face and he became very serious. “He told me to tell you that he isn’t feeling good right now. He decided to stay home from school. He doesn’t want you to worry about him and he said that he’ll text you after your last class.” 

Patton looked incredibly uncomfortable, as if he didn’t really want to talk about Janus to Virgil. He brushed his hair out of his face and plastered his smile back on.

“You should probably head to class. Don’t want to be late!” Patton said, waving goodbye as he headed down the hallway.

Virgil was slightly confused, Patton usually loved to talk. And Virgil thought they had really connected the other day when he had helped Patton sneak out. 

Virgil headed to class, worried about his brother and confused about Patton, but trying not to think too much about it. He was just probably overthinking it.

* * *

“So, tell me the entire story, how did you guys kiss?” Patton asked, clinging to Logan’s arm as they sat at the lunch table.

“It’s not that complicated of a story. We were talking, I tried to comfort him, we got super close, he grabbed my shirt, and we kissed.” 

“God, you are no good at telling stories,” Roman said, rolling his eyes. “What happened shouldn’t be a list of events like some timeline from history, it should flow, with emotion. Was the kiss emotionless?” 

“Well, no, I’d say it was pretty full of emotion,” Logan said. 

“Then your story should be full of emotion. What did you feel when he kissed you? What do you feel thinking about it now? Describe how adorable he was, I know you can do that.” 

“I hate you sometimes,” Logan said, taking a bite out of his lunch so that he could change the subject.

“Sure you do. Hey, I have to take Remus home today, since Janus isn’t here. Think you could find a ride Logan? I don’t want to make you suffer any more than you have to.” 

“Sure, I’ll find a ride. You said Janus isn’t here? Is everything okay?” Logan asked. He had noticed that Virgil’s older brother was missing, but so was Virgil, so he assumed the two of them were together. 

Patton shifted in his seat, slightly uncomfortable. “The official story, or what I’m supposed to say is that Janus is feeling a little under the weather and opted to stay home today.” 

Logan raised his eyebrows. “Official story? What’s the real story?” 

Patton sighed. “First, you have to promise not to tell Virgil. Janus wants to be the one to explain the situation to his brother. Promise, and then I can tell you.” 

Logan promised, and Patton began to explain. 

“Around midnight last night, Janus called me, asking if he could come spend the night at my place. I asked my dads, they were chill with it, so Janus came over. The thing was, everything he owns was packed into his car. It isn’t a lot, just some music gear and a suitcase with clothes, but still. 

“Apparently, him and Victoria had gotten into some huge fight. It had something to do with how she treats Virgil. Janus doesn’t really care what she says about him, he was planning to go to college soon anyways, but from what I understand, the way she talked about Virgil,” Patton paused as he physically cringed.

“It wasn’t kind. And Janus got really protective. Apparently Victoria wants to pull Virgil off of all of his meds. She claims it’s a waste of money, that he hasn’t proven that he needs it. And that’s when Janus lost it. He got kicked out and isn’t allowed to come back. He was barely able to convince her to let him grab some of his stuff.”

Roman took over telling the story. “Yeah, when I went to pick up Patton, he was asleep on the couch. Remy and Emile are letting him live with them indefinitely, because the only place he can go is to his uncle’s house, who lives a few hours away, so he isn’t the best option. I offered to bring Janus to school, but Janus said that he really just needs to sleep. Getting kicked out took a lot out of him.” 

Logan sat in silence a moment, processing all of this. 

“Virgil is going to freak. I told him that he probably had nothing to worry about, that everything would probably be normal when he got home. How is he going to handle not having his brother around?” 

“Logan, calm down. I’m sure Virgil will be fine. We’ll find a way to help him and Janus isn’t completely gone. Dude, breath. You’re worse than the emo at times,” Roman said, patting Logan’s back awkwardly. 

“You’re right. Virgil is strong. He’ll be fine.” Logan didn’t know if he was stating a fact, or trying to convince himself that it was a fact.

* * *

Virgil walked out of the main entrance to the school, thankful that the official school day was over. Now he could go home and see his brother again. He checked his phone, expecting a text or a call from Janus, but he had no notifications. It would make sense that Janus couldn’t pick him up if he wasn’t feeling well, so Virgil decided to walk home. 

About halfway through his walk, his phone beeped with a new text message. Virgil grabbed it out of his pocket as quickly as he could, hoping that it was Janus. He tried not to feel a tiny bit disappointed when he saw that it was from Logan.

“Where are you? I was going to offer you a ride home since Janus can’t take you,” the text read. Virgil typed his reply.

“I decided to walk. I couldn’t wait. I need to talk to my brother.” 

Virgil turned into the driveway, noticing right away that Janus’ car wasn’t parked in its usual spot. His mother’s car wasn’t there either, so at least Virgil didn’t have to deal with her. 

Virgil unlocked the door and walked into the living room, calling Janus’ name, hoping that he’d answer. He closed the front door and went straight to Janus’ room. 

Clothes were strewn all over the floor, Janus’ guitar and gear were missing, and Janus was nowhere to be found. Virgil started to panic, pulling out his phone and calling his brother.

“Hey Virgil, is school over already? Give me a minute, and I’ll come pick you up,” Janus said.

“I’m at home. You’re not here,” Virgil said, trying to remember to take deep breaths in. 

Virgil waited a few moments for Janus to answer, listening to the slight static noise of the call. 

“Are you going to explain?” Virgil asked.

Janus sighed and told his brother the truth. Told him everything that he had told Patton, that Patton had told Logan.

“Virgil, if you need to get out of there, I want you to go with Logan. And to call Uncle Thomas. I called him and he said that if something else happens, he will drive down here to come and stay with us. But the moment she raises her voice at you, I want you to get out of there. You hear me?” 

Virgil nodded but then realized that his brother couldn’t see him. “Yeah, I hear you.” 

“Look, Virgil, I’ll be at school tomorrow, I promise. I’ll see you then,” Janus said.

“See you tomorrow,” Virgil said, before hanging up and staring at the floor. He couldn’t believe he would be living in a house without Janus, it felt wrong. But here he was, alone, without his brother. 

He sat on the floor, thinking, until he heard the front door open. His mother was home.

“Virgil darling, I’m home! I have special plans for dinner!” She called. Virgil stood up and went to greet her, doing his best to hide his anger and pain behind a smile, just like Janus used to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
> So, a common comment is how everybody wants to fight Victoria. I fully support this movement and will provide weapons for you guys. (I joke, but yes, I fully support your hate for her.)   
> I haven't decided which song Logan should sing, so if you guys have suggestions, I'm open to hearing them!   
> Thank you so much for continuing to read!   
> Much love and gratitude,  
> Turtle :)


	16. Onesie Boyfriends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Janus goes back to school. (i'm really bad at chapter summaries, i'm sorry)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is really just a short, self indulgent, Moceit centered chapter. You could skip over it if you wanted, since there isn't that many plot relevant things to it.

“Babe, wake up!” Janus felt something warm touch his nose. He smiled, knowing that it was a good morning kiss from his boyfriend Patton, who was laying right next to him. Janus’ arms were wrapped around Patton, pulling his boyfriend closer to him. He felt the fluffy cloth of Patton’s onesie, his boyfriend’s favorite sleepwear. Janus was alway wearing a onesie, a dragon themed one that Patton and his father, Emile, had picked out for him.

Janus was currently living with Patton and his fathers, Emile and Remy Morgan. After being kicked out of his family’s house by his mother, his boyfriend’s place was the first sensible choice, and he was thankful that Patton had such supportive and understanding parents. Emile was a therapist, so he was super understanding of what Janus was going through. His first day staying at the Morgan house, Emile had called a few times in between his sessions with patients to make sure that Janus was feeling okay mentally, that he was comfortable at the house and knew where everything was. Janus felt incredibly welcomed and at home with Patton’s family. He only wished that his little brother, Virgil could be there as well. 

Janus felt Patton kiss his nose for a second time, another wake up kiss. Janus opened his eyes and greeted his much smaller boyfriend with a long kiss on the mouth, smiling the entire time and earning a giggle from the other boy. 

“I’m awake, I promise,” He mumbled.

“Well, we need to get up. We have to make breakfast and head to school. Roman wants to know if he’s picking us up or if you’re driving us,” Patton launched into his bubbly rant, talking about what they had to do today before school, and what he hoped to get done during school. Janus tried his best to pay attention, but it was hard when he was cuddling with his boyfriend, in a warm pajama onesie, first thing in the morning. 

“Jan, are you still with me?” Patton asked. Janus opened his eyes, realizing that he was falling back asleep. 

“Yeah darling, sorry. I just need some coffee,” Janus said, letting go of his boyfriend and sitting up.

“Lucky for you, that’s all my dad drinks!” Patton smiled. Patton’s dad, Remy, owned a local coffee shop, considered the best coffee in the area.

The two of them headed to the kitchen, their hands linked together. Emile was already in the kitchen, making breakfast.

“Good morning boys! I hope you slept well!” He said, smiling. Patton took after his father Emile. They were both loud, thoughtful, kind, and had bubbly personalities. Emile even had a similar wardrobe to Patton, which Janus thought was adorable. Emile was tall, with dirty blond hair and bright blue eyes. He wore a tan cardigan and a bright pink tie, his usual outfit for work. 

“Good morning Pops!” Patton said, bouncing into the kitchen. “We did! I hope you and Dad slept well, even when you two stayed up so late so that you could watch more Steven Universe.” 

“When your father told me that he had never watched Steven Universe,” Emile said, shaking his head sadly. “I felt like I didn’t know the man I had married. But I knew just how to correct it! Steven Universe date nights!” Emile and Patton laughed together.

“Babe! I swear to god, If I can’t find my keys, I’ll lose my mind!” A yell came from the back of the house. 

Emile rolled his eyes in a loving sense. “Have you checked on your dresser where they are supposed to go?” The three people in the kitchen waited a moment in silence.

“Found them!” A man came running to the front of the house. This was Patton’s other father, Remy Morgan. His dark brown hair had been brushed hastily, and a pair of sunglasses covered his steely grey eyes. He was a few inches shorter than his husband, but what he lacked in height, he made up in sass. Janus had taken an instant liking to him, they had a lot of things in common. 

Remy shrugged on a leather jacket over his black Metallica t shirt. 

“Morning darling,” Emile said, giving his husband a quick kiss. 

“Morning babe. I really have to go and open the coffee shop. Speaking of coffee, I woke up a little early and made a pot if anybody wants some.” Before he left, Remy pulled his husband into a long, passionate kiss.

“I love you, okay? Stay safe. You two boys,” Remy said as he headed out the door. 

Patton sighed happily. “I hope that one day, I can be as in love and married as you and Dad are.” Emile smiled. 

“Maybe not married, but based off of what I’ve seen, you two are definitely in love. I don’t know how you can compare it to me and your father though.” He handed a fresh mug of coffee to Janus. Then he handed a mug of coffee to Patton, except his had much more creamer in it than Janus thought possible. 

“Oh! I still need to text Roman about whether he’s picking us up or not!” Patton said, setting down his coffee and grabbing his phone. 

“I’ll drive us. Tell him not to worry, he’ll be busy putting up with whatever bullshit that Remus dreams up.” 

“Okay, I’ve told him. Give me a minute to get dressed and then you come and change, sound good?” Patton said, heading for his bedroom. Janus sat down at the breakfast bar, where Emile was leaning on the other side of the counter. 

“You two really are adorable,” Emile said. Janus blushed and mumbled a thanks. 

“How’s Virgil doing? Did you get a chance to call him yesterday?” 

“Yeah, I did,” Janus said, staring at his steaming mug of coffee. “He didn’t seem to take it very well, but I’m not that surprised. I’m really worried about him. My mother wants to pull him from therapy and take him off of his antidepressants, because she doesn’t see how they’re helping him. But she’s never been around for one of his episodes, she’s only seen him when he’s on the medications, when they’re working. And she’s so controlling, I think she’s going to make him incredibly anxious by forcing him to spend a lot of time with her.” 

Emile nodded. “That’s a lot, I wish I could help more. But since I’m not his therapist, I can’t do much on the matter. I’d just be a nosey neighbor instead of a professional whose opinion should be listened to. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but I’m sorry Janus.” 

“Thanks Emile, for listening to me and letting me stay here. If it wasn’t for you, I’d probably be three hours away, staying with my uncle. He’s amazing, but living so far away wouldn’t be ideal.” 

Patton came out of the bedroom, dressed and ready for the day.

“You should probably hurry up Jan, that way we aren’t late for school. Are we picking up Virgil?” 

Janus stood up and began to head for the bedroom. “Logan texted me last night, offering to start giving Virgil a ride to and from school. That way I don’t have to go back home.” 

“Okay! But we still need to leave sometime in the next ten minutes!” 

* * *

Janus pulled into the school parking lot and found a good space, parking the car and turning it off. He got out with Patton and the two of them headed to the entrance, hand in hand. 

Janus didn’t see his little brother until he was tackled to the ground by the small hot topic gremlin. 

“Virgil!” He said, shoving the smaller boy off of him.

“I was so worried about you!” Virgil said, helping his brother up.

“Really? Because I’m fine right now, other than being knocked to the ground by a tiny person who was running at me, full speed.” Virgil stuck his tongue out at his brother. 

“I’ve been more worried about you. Living with that woman all alone? If I was in your place, I’d probably end up shoving her down multiple flights of stairs.” 

“I’ll be fine,” Virgil said. Logan walked up. He had been walking with Virgil towards the school until Virgil deviated paths to attack his brother. 

Logan spoke up. “I’ve offered Virgil to come and stay with my family if he ever feels uncomfortable or overwhelmed.”

Janus smiled at his brother’s friend. “Thank you Logan, that means a lot to us.” 

* * *

“Wait, how am I the last one to know that my little brother had his first kiss? I should be the first one!” Janus said at lunch. Roman had mentioned Virgil and Logan’s moment, and now everyone was filling Janus in. 

“I can’t believe he didn’t tell me yesterday on the phone,” Janus pouted. Patton reached up and kissed the corner of his mouth, which made Janus feel a little better.

“You told him about how you got kicked out, and then you had to go. He didn’t really have time to interrupt your sobering news with ‘oh yeah, i made out with my best friend last night’, now did he?” Roman said. 

“You’re right, I know that. But still, I can be a tiny bit sad about it.” Janus stopped pouting when he saw his brother enter the cafeteria. He waved and called Virgil over.

“So, I’ve heard that you took some steps with Logan. I told you he liked you!” Janus teased. Virgil buried his face in his hands. 

“You guys told him? I wanted to tell him,” he grumbled through his fingers.

“Virgil, my adorable, darling, hopelessly gay brother. How long were you planning on making me wait to know this?” Janus teased some more. Virgil punched his brother’s shoulder, earning a laugh from everyone at the table.

“May I sit here?” A voice asked. The table looked up and saw Logan standing next to Virgil’s seat. Virgil nodded and moved a little closer to his brother so that Logan could sit down. Janus noticed Virgil’s hand slip under the table and grab onto Logan’s hand, who held it gently. Janus just smiled and decided not to mention it. 

* * *

Janus and Patton flopped down on the couch in the Morgan family’s living room. School had been quite an adventure for Janus, he was constantly checking up on his brother as well as trying to gather notes from yesterday’s classes. 

Patton climbed into Janus lap and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Today wasn’t so bad,” he said. 

“No, it wasn’t,” Janus said, wrapping his arms around Patton’s waist. He kissed his boyfriend back and smiled.

Emile opened the front door and practically beamed when he saw the two teenagers on the couch.

“I’m glad you’re both here! I was thinking we could do a double date night type thing!” Normally, Janus would find the idea of going on a double date with his boyfriend’s parents kind of strange and uncomfortable, but with Emile and Remy, he didn’t mind all that much. 

“That sounds great Pops!” Patton said. “What did you have in mind?” 

“Well, there’s this new movie that your father is interested in, some action movie, I don’t remember the same. I remembered how you told me that Janus was also interested in that movie, so I thought the four of us could go see it tonight and then go out for dinner. How does that sound?” 

Janus smiled. “That sounds amazing. Thank you for inviting us.” 

* * *

Logan wasn’t one to use curse words. While he wasn’t against them, he often found better ways to express his emotions. But as he sat in his room, plucking at the strings of his old guitar, all other words in his vocabulary seemed to have disappeared. 

“Calm down man,” Roman said. “Nobody expects you to be able to play a song perfectly on your first try, especially since you haven’t picked up an instrument in years. 

“I just want this to be perfect, and I want to do it soon. I know I sound impatient, like some child, but this means a lot to me, and I want it to mean a lot to Virgil as well.” 

“I’m sure he’ll love it anyways, he’s hopelessly in love with you.”

Logan took a deep breath and tried the chord for the thirty-seventh time. Finally, he got it right without accidentally plucking any of the other strings. 

“Yes!” He shouted, almost falling over. 

He tried one more time, playing the same chord over and over until he was comfortable with it. 

“Virgil’s going to love this!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!  
> Thank you for reading this chapter, even though the plot was basically non-existent. (Plot? who's she? never heard of her.)  
> I have a lot of love for Moceit and with everything that Janus has been going through, I felt like he deserved the attention.   
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter!  
> Much love and gratitude,   
> Turtle <3


	17. The Right Chord Doesn't Matter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan initiates his plan on how to ask Virgil to be his boyfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, sorry for the poor excuse of a chapter summery.   
> So the song in this chapter is "Talk to Me" by Cavetown. You guys suggested it and I really liked it, so it's a part of the chapter now! Yay!  
> Warnings for this chapter: oh god where do i start. Um, drunkenness, Victoria (she should really just be her own trigger warning, so yeah...)

“I’m going to do it today. I’m going to ask Virgil out,” Logan said. He was sitting with his friends at lunch a week after he had decided on how to ask Virgil out. He had waited until Virgil had left before saying anything.

“You said that yesterday. And the day before that,” Patton said, sitting in Janus’ lap, despite the table benches barely having room for the two of them. 

“He’s right. You’ve said that every day since you decided how you were going to ask him out. Even before you knew how to play the song,” Roman said, eating the last of his lunch.

“I mean it today! I know the main part of the song, the what, is it called?”

Janus raised an eyebrow. “The chorus?” he asked.

Logan nodded. “Yeah that. I remember reading it, but I was so busy trying to memorize the song, that I didn’t bother to learn the technical terms.” Janus shook his head disappointedly. 

“I just need to pick a place to do it. I was thinking of inviting Virgil over. He saw my telescope the other day and said that we should do a stargazing night sometime. I think he’d like it if I combined the two things.” 

“Actually, that’s a good idea,” Patton said, stealing food from Janus’ plate. “Make sure to get it on video though. I need to see this.” 

“I can stop by before Virgil gets there to help you set up the camera, and make sure it’s hidden. This is in your backyard, right?” Roman asked.

“Actually, if I want to stargaze, I usually go up on my roof. A few years back, I found this perfect place on the roof when I was up there with my dad, reapplying some roof tiles. It’s accessible from my bedroom window and it’s not difficult to carry stuff up there. I was thinking of doing it up there.” 

“Wow, you really do have this entire thing planned out,” Janus noted. “I just hope that it works out how you plan. I better be getting a call from Virgil either late tonight or early tomorrow telling me about how you absolutely swept him off of his feet.” 

“So no pressure,” Patton said, smiling. Logan nodded, now feeling slightly uncertain about his idea. He worried that it wasn’t romantic enough to “sweep Virgil off his feet,” but he decided to go with it anyways.

* * *

The last bell of school rang, signaling the end of the day. Logan rushed to Virgil’s locker and waited. 

“Logan? Why are you standing in front of my locker?” Virgil asked, unlocking the metal door and shoving his books out of the locker and into his bag.

“I wanted to invite you for that stargazing night we talked about the other day. Tonight is supposed to be clear, so I think it will be perfect.”

“I’d have to check with my mom. I don’t know if she has special plans for the two of us. She probably won’t like it if I try to ditch her again.” Virgil winced, thinking back to how much she had yelled when he had canceled their plans so that he could hang out with Logan. 

“It’s okay if you can’t!” Logan said, hurriedly. 

“I’ll text you if I can, but I think I can talk my way out of whatever my mom has planned tonight. I think I’m going to walk home today, less time at home. Bye Logan!” Virgil slammed his locker shut and headed towards the front door. 

* * *

Virgil unlocked his front door and was greeted by his mother, on the verge of crying and being in complete hysterics. 

“Virgil! I’ve been worried sick! What took you so long to get home?” She asked, wrapping him in a hug. He tried to push away, but she held on tight.

“I just walked home. I thought it would be nice, with weather like this.” 

“As long as you’re safe.” She finally let go of him and went into the kitchen, pulling a water bottle out of the fridge. 

Virgil followed her, grabbing himself an energy drink. “Do you have any plans for tonight?” He asked her, trying to act as nonchalant as he could.

“Actually, I do. I have a work meeting tonight. I don’t know why they’re having it so late, but I can’t miss it. I hope you’re okay with being home alone tonight, I probably won’t get back until super late. Like, one am. It’s an hour away and knowing the people I work with, they’ll want to go out and do something after the meeting. And who am I to deny them that?” Victoria continued to talk for a few moments about her meeting.

“So, you don’t mind if I go over to Logan’s tonight? We wanted to try and go stargazing, maybe use it for extra credit in science?” Virgil slipped that last part in so that his mother would say yes, knowing that she would support it if it was related to school.

“That sounds like a great idea! I hope you have fun sweetie and get good grades!” She hugged him again and headed to her room to get ready for her meeting. 

Virgil immediately texted Logan, telling him that he could come and asking what time he should arrive. Logan told him to come in time for dinner and they could look at the stars afterwards. Virgil smiled happily at his phone, excited to the night ahead.

* * *

Logan heard the front door bell ring and raced to open the door. 

“Come on in. Dinner is ready,” he said, smiling as Virgil walked inside.

“Sorry if you guys had to wait up for me. I had to walk here since my mom couldn’t drive me and Janus is still living with Patton,” Virgil explained.

“Don’t worry about it. You should have said something though, my mom would have come and picked you up.” 

“I don’t want to be a burden. You guys are already so nice to me,” Virgil said.

Dot came and greeted Virgil with a quick hug. He didn’t pull away, because unlike his actual mother, he liked Dot and found a sense of calm when he was around her. 

“You are never a burden, you got that?” Dot said. “Now come on, we’re having pizza for dinner. Nothing fancy, just a quiet night tonight. Logan told me your favorite pizza, so we got that.” 

“Thanks Dot,” Virgil said, smiling. Although Virgil couldn’t see him, Logan smiled back. Virgil’s smiles just had that effect on Logan, an effect that Logan could never explain except for that he was hopelessly into Virgil. 

The family ate dinner, talking about random things. Logan noticed how Virgil was much more comfortable and vocal than he was the first time he had eaten dinner with the Berry’s.

After dinner, they sat around and talked a little more. Finally, it was dark enough for the two boys to go and stargaze. 

Earlier in the day, Roman had helped him set up the telescope on the roof as well as hidden a guitar under a stack of blankets, so that Virgil wouldn’t get suspicious. The hardest part was finding an excuse for recording the entire thing. Logan had decided to tell Virgil that he was recording the sky for later reference. That was something Virgil would believe. 

“It’s kind of chilly outside, thanks to the wind, so take this blanket,” Dot said, wrapping Logan’s TARDIS blanket around Virgil’s shoulders. Logan tried not to think about how cute and small Virgil looked wrapped up in a giant blanket. He showed Virgil the way up onto the roof and sat down on the blanket he had laid out for them to relax on. 

“This is nice,” Virgil said as he relaxed next to Logan. “The stars are so pretty. Can you point out your favorite constellation you see?” he teased Logan. 

Logan cleared his throat. “I have something to admit,” He said. 

“What’s up? Is something wrong?” Virgil asked, looking extremely worried. 

“No, no! Nothing is wrong. I just wanted to say, I really like you Virgil.” 

“We’ve already been over this. I like you too. Remember, we kissed?” Virgil asked.

“Yes, I do remember that. I have an excellent memory. But that’s not exactly what I’m going for. You see, I have a surprise for you.” Logan pulled out the guitar and took a deep breath, ignoring Virgil’s adorably confused face. 

Logan took a deep breath and began to play. 

_ You don’t have to be a hero to save the world _

_ It doesn’t make you a narcissist to love yourself _

_ It feels like nothing is easy it’ll never be _

_ That’s alright, let it out, talk to me _

Logan focused on Virgil as he continued to sing, wincing whenever he messed up, but continuing to smile. 

Finally, after what seemed like decades of making mistakes to Logan, he finished the song and set the guitar down to the side.

“Virgil Black, the most attractive man I have ever met, will you please be my official boyfriend?” Logan asked.

Virgil practically threw himself at Logan. He grabbed the larger boy’s face and held it firmly as he kissed him. Logan grabbed Virgil and held him as close as he could, kissing him back. Virgil was the first to pull away, gasping for breath. He had managed to seat himself in Logan’s lap, his hands still holding Logan’s face.

“Is that a yes?” Logan asked, smiling like an idiot.

“Of course that’s a yes!” Virgil said, laughing a little.

“Still want to look at stars?” Logan asked. 

Virgil climbed off of Logan’s lap, sitting down next to him and laying his head on Logan’s chest. “With you? Of course. God, I sound like such a sap.”

“Well, you’ve turned me into a sap, so I think it’s fair. I’m sorry about the song, I messed up some of the parts. I don’t think I had the right chord.” 

“Well, the right chord doesn’t matter, not in my opinion. Because that was the best thing anyone has ever done for me. Minus Janus of course, he gets a pass.” 

The two stayed up there until Larry appeared at the window, calling them inside. 

“It’s almost one. You should probably head home Virgil, unless you plan to spend the night, which is fine. I just need to know if I should set up the air mattress.” 

“No, I should probably start walking home. Get there before my mom gets home,” Virgil said, grabbing the blankets and helping Logan carry everything back into the house. 

“You aren’t walking home, not this late. Are you insane?” Logan asked. “Dad, can we drive him home? Please?” 

“Of course, anything for my future son-in-law.” Virgil and Logan blushed at the same time. 

* * *

Larry pulled up into the driveway of Virgil’s home. 

“Thank you so much for tonight, it was the best thing I’ve done in a long time.” Virgil smiled, gently pulling his hand from Logan’s. 

“May I please give you a kiss good night?” Logan asked.

“You’re still asking?” 

“Your boundaries are important to me. I will continue to ask, to make sure that you are comfortable.” 

“Well then yes, you may give me one small kiss.” Logan leaned over and kissed his new boyfriend’s lips. A single, soft, gentle kiss that sent Virgil feeling like he was on every drug imaginable. 

* * *

Virgil woke up about two hours later, hearing his bedroom door close. He climbed out of bed and walked into the kitchen, where he heard more noise.

“Mom, what are you doing awake?” He asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. 

“Just taking care of some things. Go to sleep sweetie,” she said. Virgil peered at the thing she held in her hands and recognized it as his medications. 

“What are you doing with my meds?” he asked her, fear and anxiety flooding into his mind. 

“I talked to a therapist friend of mine and he said that from what I told him, you don’t need these. So I’m getting rid of them. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. You won’t have to rely on drugs anymore. Isn’t that amazing?” She said, her voice giving away that she was drunk. 

“Mom no, please. I need those. Your therapist friend shouldn’t be saying that stuff, especially if he’s never met me.” Virgil tried to grab the medications but his mom held them out of his reach. 

“Go to your room young man. I’m the adult in this house, I know what’s best for you.” Virgil knew better than to argue, especially after what happened with Janus. He went into the hallway and watched as his mother poured all of his medications into the sink and down the drain. 

Virgil silently went into his room and locked the door. He grabbed his phone and opened his contacts. Janus’ name was right up top, under important contacts. Virgil pressed the big green call symbol next to his brother’s name, holding the phone up to his face and silently begging that Janus would pick up.

“Virgil? You know it’s like 3 in the morning, right?” Janus said as soon as he picked up, his voice slurred with sleepiness.

“I need you to come pick me up. I can’t stay here any more. Please Jan,” Virgil begged, trying to control the tears that were now making their way down his face. 

“I’m on my way. Find a way out of the house and I’ll get you. Give me fifteen minutes.” Virgil hung up the phone, trying to think of a way out of the house. He remembered the window in Janus’ room, the one that he had helped Patton escape from. Virgil knew exactly how he was going to get out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everybody!  
> Wow, you must all either really love me, really hate me, or a strong mix of the two. And honestly, I can't blame you.  
> This chapter was originally going to end at Virgil getting home, but the words kind of had a mind of their own and so the last part of this chapter came into existence. I thought about deleting that part and saving it for later, maybe making it less dramatic, but in the end, I decided to keep it. So suffer. (jk ily all but yes, you must deal with the angst) Yes, I am supplying weapons for when you go to fight Victoria.   
> Thank you to the people who suggested the song, it was a really good suggestion and I ended up using it. I absolutely love this song, it's amazing.  
> Much love and gratitude,  
> Turtle <3  
> (honestly, the fact that you've read this far into the fic and put up with my angst and Victoria means a lot, so here, have some real emoji hearts! 💟💞💝💘💗💖💕💓💜💚💙❤)


	18. *Anxious Kazoo Noises*

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil is forced to go to school right after he escapes his mom's house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, i apologize for the bad chapter summary. At this point, I should just hire someone who can do a better job than me, which is literally almost anyone.   
> some warnings: anxiety attack, tiny bit of Victoria.

Virgil waited until his mother had gone to her bedroom and he could hear her drunken snores. He grabbed his duffle bag and filled it with as many of his clothes as he could fit. He grabbed his bass and carried that to Janus’ room, where he popped off the window screen and lowered his stuff to the ground outside as carefully as possible. After a few trips to and from his room and the window, Virgil hopped onto the ledge and down to the ground. He carried his stuff to the driveway and waited for Janus to come to get him, his anxiety growing with every minute passing. 

Finally, after what felt like forever, Janus pulled up and hopped out of the car, grabbing Virgil’s stuff.

“Get in the car, I’ll load this up,” Janus said. Virgil climbed in the back and waited for Janus to finish loading the bags. 

“You’ll stay tonight at the Morgan’s house, with me and Patton. Tomorrow, we can try and talk to Logan and his family about taking you in until Uncle Thomas can come down. I think it’s high time we call him,” Janus said, driving away, leaving their mother behind.

* * *

When they got to the Morgan’s house, the entire family was waiting in the living room. Janus opened the front door and Patton pounced on poor Virgil, hugging him and checking to make sure that he wasn’t hurt. 

“Virgil, these are Patton’s dads, Emile and Remy,” Janus said, introducing the two men. Virgil greeted them awkwardly.

“Thank you for letting me spend the night. I’m sorry if I’m a burden, I know it was last minute,” Virgil said apologetically. 

“Don’t you dare apologize. We’re just happy we could help,” Emile said. 

“Yeah, we wish we could have helped sooner. You’re mother is a total bitch and we’re sorry that you have to deal with that. Let me know if you want me to fight her, I’m pretty good at martial arts,” Remy joked. Emile shushed his husband, reminding him that it probably wasn’t the best time to be joking about it.

“We can’t fit another boy in Patton’s room, even though him and Janus are sharing the bed,” Remy said, casting a mischievous glance at the two boys, who both suddenly became very interested in their feet. 

“So you’ll have to sleep on the couch. I’m afraid we don’t have a guest bedroom or a blow up mattress. I hope that’s fine.” 

Virgil smiled. “That’s great. Thank you so much.” 

Emile helped him grab out some blankets and get settled on the couch, offering to grab extra pillows or other things so that Virgil was comfortable. After he was sure that Virgil would be fine, he told everybody, including his husband, to head to bed. They’d have a busy day tomorrow and it was best to get some sleep.

* * *

“Virgil, hey dude, wake up,” Janus said, shaking his brother awake. “We still have school today.” Virgil grumbled and pulled the blanket over his head. 

“Virgil, please wake up,” a new voice said. Virgil barely recognized it as Emile. “Are you feeling okay?” 

“I’m fine. I’m just tired. I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night,” Virgil mumbled into the pillow. He heard Janus sigh and felt the blanket being ripped away from him. 

Virgil groaned and sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and yawning. 

“Can I stay home today? Like what Janus did when he first stayed here?” Janus and Emile looked at each other for a moment, their unspoken conversation impossible for Virgil to understand. 

Emile spoke up. “I don’t think that’s a good idea Virgil. With your mental health history, being productive is probably the best idea for now. Until we can somehow get your meds refilled, we can’t risk you doing anything that might trigger an anxiety attack or depressive episode. Being productive, even if it is just going to school, is a much better option than sitting around all day. I hope you understand.” Emile sounded slightly apologetic, but Janus seemed relieved. 

“I guess that makes sense,” Virgil admitted, grabbing Logan’s hoodie and wrapping it tightly around his shoulders.

“You’ll get to see Logan if you go to school,” Patton said, trying to be helpful.

“Yeah, you never told me about last night,” Janus said, shoving his brother gently so that he could sit on the couch. 

“He told you about last night?”

Janus rolled his eyes. “He told us his plans, but he’s been talking about it for a short while now. He said that he was going to do it, and Roman went over to help set up, but we didn’t know how it turned out. So spill, tell me everything, before Logan gets a chance to text Roman about it again.” 

Virgil sighed and told the entire story. Even Emile and Remy stopped what they were doing to listen. Patton was almost brought to tears when Virgil told everyone about how Logan sang for him. Even though Logan was no musician and wasn’t an incredible singer, Virgil admitted to being obsessed with every note that Logan sang.

“The only way to describe it was that he was singing from his heart, to my heart. I know that sounds super dumb, but that’s how it felt. It was music to the heart.” 

As Virgil finished telling the story, Emile looked at his watch. “Goodness! If you don’t hurry, you will all be late for school!” 

Suddenly, the house was filled with action as five people rushed to get ready to leave and head out the door. It was truly a miracle that anyone reached their destination on time that morning.

* * *

Logan had woken up tired from last night’s events. As happy as he was to have an adorable boyfriend, the missed sleep had made for a very rushed morning. He had been forced to text Virgil, telling him that he could not pick him up before school. Virgil seemed fine with it, but Logan was secretly disappointed with himself. Not even a full twenty-four hours into dating and he felt like a terrible boyfriend. 

He saw Virgil walk up the school steps with Patton and Janus, thankful that Virgil had managed to find a ride. Before he reached the group, he noticed Virgil turn to the older two boys and tell them something, before turning back to Logan and rushing over to greet him. 

Virgil slipped his hand in Logan’s, gripping it tightly as if he was making sure that Logan was really there.

“Did you get enough sleep?” Logan asked. “You look exhausted, no offense.” 

“It was a rough night. But I’m glad it’s over. Come on, we don’t want to miss class.” Virgil pulled Logan into the school, headed to their first classes.

* * *

Logan couldn’t help but feel that something was off about Virgil, but no one would tell him anything. He had asked Patton, Janus, and Virgil himself, but they all insisted that everything was fine. 

Logan noticed how Virgil’s hoodie, the one Logan had given him, was wrapped tightly around his shoulders. Something that Logan had learned long ago meant that Virgil was feeling anxious. The tighter Virgil held onto the jacket, the more anxious he felt. And it did not escape Logan’s notice how tightly Virgil pulled on the jacket. 

“Are you sure that you’re okay? You look really anxious. Did you take your medications this morning?” 

Virgil nodded, pulling on the jacket zipper. “I’m going to the bathroom real quick. Meet me for lunch in the cafeteria?” he asked. Logan agreed and let go of his boyfriend’s hand, the two headed in opposite directions. 

Logan met the rest of the friend group at their usual lunch table, sitting down next to Roman and saving a seat for Virgil. 

“Soo,” Roman began. “We need to hear your side of last night’s story. Patton told us what Virgil told them this morning, so we need to hear your side.”

Janus smirked. “Yes, I must hear all about how you felt when my baby brother sat in your lap and made out with you.” Patton lightly smacked his boyfriend’s shoulder as Logan’s face turned red. 

Logan told his side of the story. How he was incredibly nervous but the moment he started playing the guitar and he focused on Virgil, he realized that it didn’t matter how well he was playing, as long as he was playing it for Virgil.

The kiss was a surprise, Logan made that very clear. He never expected to find Virgil in his lap, holding his face. But he went with it, and he kissed Virgil back. 

“Wow, you’re storytelling is much better this time around,” Roman teased as Logan finished telling his story.

Logan looked at the still empty spot next to him. It had been almost half an hour and Virgil wasn’t back. 

“Should I go search for him?” he asked Janus. Janus and Patton looked at one another for a moment, as if having a silent conversation. 

“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea,” Janus said. “Text me if you need help.” 

Logan got up and headed down the hallways, going towards the bathroom that Virgil had gone to earlier. When he got there, he called Virgil’s name.

“Logan?” he heard Virgil answer back. Virgil’s voice sounded shaky, the exact same way it sounded the first time Logan had helped Virgil go through an anxiety attack. 

Logan pushed on the stall door where he had heard Virgil’s voice, thankful to find it unlocked. Virgil sat on the floor, his jacket pulled around him like a burrito. 

Logan got down and sat next to Virgil, the two of them barely able to fit in the stall. 

“Want me to talk to you?” Logan asked. Virgil nodded, wrapping his arms around Logan’s torso and burying his head in Logan’s chest. 

“What do you want me to talk about?” Logan asked, wrapping his arms around Virgil and holding him as tight as he could without having to worry about hurting him.

“Um, talk to me about the stars, the ones from last night,” Virgil mumbled into Logan’s shirt. 

Logan started to talk about the different constellations and stars from the night before. As he talked, his hand ran through Virgil’s hair, almost as if it had a mind of its own and wanted to help comfort Virgil. 

After about ten minutes of Logan talking, Virgil’s breathing seemed to steady, and his grip around Logan’s torso loosened. 

“Are you feeling better?” Logan asked. Virgil nodded. “I thought you took your meds today?” Virgil sat up, wiping his face with his sleeve. 

“I lied, I didn’t take my meds today. My mom threw them down the sink last night. She had come home drunk and apparently she’s been talking to some therapist who told her I don’t need them. I spent the night at Patton’s house. I can’t stay with my mom anymore.” 

Logan sat for a moment, processing this. “Why didn’t you tell me? I offered to help.” 

“After last night, you were just so happy and I felt like I’d be a burden if I ruined that. But not telling you, and asking Patton and Janus not to say anything, made me anxious. And I guess I broke and came here.” 

“You can always tell me anything, you’re not a burden. I promise, okay? Now, I know for a fact that Remy and Emile can’t house three teenagers, would you be okay if I called my parents and asked if you could stay with us?” 

Virgil nodded. 

“Would you like another hug?” Logan asked.

“Still on the boundaries thing?” Virgil teased.

“I haven’t changed my opinion on respecting your space. So, would you like a hug, or would you like some space?”

“I’ll take the hug. You’re a nerd though,” Virgil said, hugging Logan.

“Come on, we should probably get out of here. Class is gonna start soon and you haven’t eaten lunch.” Logan got up and took a moment to help Virgil off of the ground. 

* * *

Larry grabbed the bass from the trunk of Janus’ car. 

“I can’t thank you enough for helping us and taking care of Virgil. It means the world, honestly,” Janus said, carrying in Virgil’s duffle bag full of clothes. 

“It’s not a problem. We offered. It’s honestly terrible that it’s come to this, but as long as you two are safe,” Larry said, setting the bass down in the guest bedroom. 

“And I plan to call my uncle tonight, ask for his help. Hopefully we’ll be out of your hair in no time.” 

“Don’t worry about it, seriously,” Dot said, coming into the room. “Just let us know if there is anything else we can do.” 

Logan held Virgil’s hand as they sat on his bed, talking. Virgil had made it through the school day without another anxiety attack, which they were both incredibly grateful for. 

“Wait, so your uncle makes a living by creating youtube videos? He’s a content creator?” Logan asked.

“Yeah, as a kid, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I wanted to be just like him. He even let me help make a video once. But it’s a lot of work, I learned that pretty quickly.” 

“So is playing the bass and you’re amazing at that. If you really put your mind to it, I’m sure that you can make amazing videos. Although, becoming youtube famous like your uncle is mostly luck. It’s impossible to guarantee fame.” 

“Yeah I know. All that stuff about luck and fame. I’m not completely confident about my ability to make videos though. I haven’t tried it in a long time.” 

The conversation rounded back around to Virgil’s uncle and his job. Virgil ended up pulling out his phone, showing Logan his uncle’s videos. The two of them sat on the bed, watching the phone, Virgil resting his head on Logan’s shoulder and Logan’s arm making its way around Virgil’s waist.

Suddenly, Virgil’s phone started to ring. 

“Do you want to take that?” Logan asked, letting go of Virgil’s waste.

“No, I don’t think I can,” Virgil said. Pressing the red button and letting the caller go to voicemail.

“Why not? Is it your anxiety?” Logan asked.

The phone started ringing again. Virgil paled a little bit. 

“Because it’s my mom. She’s the person calling me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!  
> I don't really know how to explain this chapter, it's just a bit of empty nothingness. Some light fluff I guess. Definitely not my best writing, but I decided to keep it. (Also, now you know where the title of this fic comes from! Yay!😊)  
> Other than that, i don't really have notes for this chapter, so all I can say is thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!   
> Much love and gratitude,   
> Turtle


	19. Note to Self: Never Take Virgil to a Haunted Hotel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil and Logan decide to have a quiet Friday night and watch "The Shining"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some warnings: cursing, slight amount of Victoria, horror movie (so some talk of violence, the supernatural, insanity. that type of stuff)

“Should I take the call?” Virgil asked Logan.

“That is something you need to decide. Do you think you can handle talking to her? Do you think what she has to say is worth hearing?” Logan replied. Virgil thought about it. While he was thinking, the call went to voicemail, only for his phone to start ringing a few seconds later, Victoria’s contact lighting up the screen. Virgil pressed the green answer button and held the phone up to his face.

“Oh Virgil, I was so worried when you didn’t come home from school today! And then I tried to call you and your phone went to voicemail, twice. You need to get better at answering that, you know,” she said before Virgil got a chance to even say hello.

“Now, where are you? I want to come pick you up, that way we can go and do something, just the two of us.” 

“Mom, I’m not going to spend the afternoon with you,” Virgil said, his hand slipping into Logan’s. 

“Let me rephrase this,” she said over the phone. “Let me know where you are so I can come get you. We’re doing this.” 

Janus walked by the open door. He paused when he noticed that Virgil was talking on the phone, raising his eyebrow. Logan mouthed the word “mom” and Janus sped into the room, snatching the phone from Virgil.

“Mom?” he asked. Virgil and Logan couldn’t hear what Victoria had said, but they assumed that she wasn’t happy to hear him.

“Virgil isn’t going to spend any more time with you, okay? He’s moving out, living somewhere else. I’m already planning on asking Uncle Thomas for help, so just keep your long fucking nose out of Virgil’s life.” Logan felt Virgil shrink into himself, clearly worried what his mom might try to do after this phone call.

“Don’t you dare call the police. If you do, I’ll tell them what you did to his meds, I’ll tell them that you left two young boys to live by themselves for extended periods at a time. How would that look? They’ll alert CPS about your negligence. You know that right?” Janus shouted into the phone. 

Dot and Larry came into the room, drawn by Janus’ shouting. They stood by the door and listened. 

“Do it bitch, I dare you,” Janus said. He hung up on his mother, tossing the phone to Virgil. 

“What did she say?” Dot asked. Janus turned to her. 

“She wants to call the cops. She said that she’ll tell them that I kidnapped Virgil. So I told her I’d tell them the truth. That she’s a negligent, good-for-nothing, bitch of a mother. Excuse my language.” 

Larry shook his head. “You said it in a kinder way than I would have if I was the one talking to her. Don’t worry about language. Just because we personally don’t curse doesn’t mean we hate it or don’t understand that sometimes it’s warranted.” 

“If she does end up calling the cops, let us know,” Dot said. “We have a lawyer friend who could help.” 

“Thank you, you’re both doing so much for us,” Janus said. “I have to get going, I promised to help Emile with dinner. But just text or call me if something happens.” 

Dot and Larry followed Janus to the door, saying goodbye and making sure that he drove off safely. 

Upstairs in the bedroom, Logan and Virgil still sat on the bed. Virgil had buried his face in Logan’s shoulder, shuddering at the thought of his mother calling the cops.

“You did amazing, picking up the phone and telling your mother no. I know that wasn’t easy,” Logan said, running his fingers though Virgil soft purple hair. 

“Janus did a way better job than I did.” 

“Nonsense. He was channeling a different emotion when talking to her. I’m very proud of you and I know Janus is as well.” Virgil nodded, understanding what Logan was trying to say.

“You know what? Why don’t we do something fun tonight? I can ask my parents to take us anywhere. Anywhere you want. We don’t have school tomorrow, thank god for Friday nights, so the options are endless.” 

Virgil thought for a minute. “I think I just want to stay home tonight. Maybe we can watch a movie or something?” 

Logan smiled. “Of course. You pick out the movie.”

* * *

Virgil flopped on the couch in the Berry family’s living room. He had picked out one of his all-time favorite movies, The Shining. Logan had admitted to never having watched it before, so Virgil knew it would make a perfect Friday night date movie. 

Logan sat down next to him and Virgil scooted closer. In just a few moments, Virgil had scooted so close that his head was resting on Logan’s chest and Logan had to move so that his arm was around Virgil’s shoulders, pulling him even closer. 

The opening scene started and Virgil grew excited to see how his boyfriend would react to what he considered to be one of the greatest movies of all time. 

But Logan’s reaction was not at all what Virgil expected. Logan would jump from fright at the strangest times. During the scene with the typewriter, Logan even used his hands to cover his eyes, unable to look. 

“I don’t understand how you could like this movie,” Logan said. “It’s so dark and messed up. He’s trying to kill his wife and kid, how are you okay with this?” 

“I don’t have to be okay with it, I don’t support the things he does,” Virgil tried to explain. “He’s not meant to be this hero you know. He’s not mentally stable and the supernatural energy of the hotel is affecting him.” 

Logan thought about it for a moment. Then he shrugged his shoulders and went back to cuddling his boyfriend and trying to enjoy the movie. But it didn’t take long for him to get unsettled again and to jump, knocking Virgil’s head off of his chest as he squeaked from freight. 

“Do you want to turn it off? We can watch something else?” Virgil asked. 

“No, I want to finish this movie. It’s important to you,” Logan said, wrapping his arm back around Virgil and trying to act calm. 

Virgil thought for a moment, then he spoke up. “If you don’t want to stop the movie, then I have a suggestion,” he said, a mischievous twinkle in his eye that slightly scared Logan. 

“What is it?” Logan asked.

“Everytime you get scared, I want you to kiss me.” 

Logan practically jumped in surprised. “What?” 

“You heard me. It can be a kiss on the cheek, the forehead, the hand, or the mouth. Just kiss me if you’re scared.” 

“Why?” Logan asked.

Virgil shrugged his shoulders, acting nonchalant. “I just don’t want you to be scared.” 

Logan raised his eyebrows, silently questioning Virgil. Virgil sighed.

“Fine! And I like it when you give me attention! Are you happy? I thought we could kill two birds with one stone.” Virgil could feel his face heat up, and he knew that he looked like a strawberry.

“You’re adorable, you know that?” Logan commented.

“Soooo, are you going to do it?” Virgil asked.

Logan was about to say something when he looked at the tv and saw Jack swinging his ax at the bathroom door. Wendy was screaming her head off. Logan turned around and grabbed Virgil’s face, kissing him for a few moments until he ran out of breath. Then he buried his face in Virgil’s shoulder.

Virgil laughed. “I take that as a yes then,” he said. Logan mumbled something into Virgil’s shoulder that sounded like an ‘I hate you,’ but Virgil pretended not to hear. 

“And you claim that I’m the adorable one,” Virgil teased. 

“Shut up or I’m never kissing you again,” Logan threatened from Virgil’s shoulder. 

“Lier,” Virgil said, grabbing Logan’s face and giving him a quick kiss. Logan turned a bright shade of pink and Virgil had to fight back laughter. On the screen, Wendy screamed again and Logan buried his head in Virgil’s shoulder again. 

“You know, that scene is so silly,” Virgil said, trying to make Logan feel better. “I mean, why would he stick his head through the door, he could get splinters or something. And if he was going to chop down the door, starting from the middle and trying to unlock the door with the handle was a dumb way to go about it.” 

Logan looked up at his boyfriend. “Oh? And how would you go for breaking down a locked door with an ax?” 

Virgil thought for a moment. “Well, all he really has to do is destroy the handle or lock. He has an ax, it’d be easy to destroy that area around the door handle, and then he could easily push the door open.” 

Logan stared at Virgil. “I’m never taking you to a haunted hotel. You know too much. I’d be afraid for my life.” Virgil laughed, which made Logan laugh too. 

Logan couldn’t be more grateful when the credits on the movie started scrolling up the screen.

“That was terrible, I don’t understand how you could enjoy that. I’m going to have nightmares for the rest of my life.” 

“Well, I hear that hugs and kisses can get rid of nightmares,” Virgil said, squirming until he was practically sitting on Logan’s lap. Virgil maneuvered Logan’s arms so that they were wrapped around his waist. 

“Virgil, I don’t think that’s how nightmares work,” Logan said, a knowing smile on his face. 

“But I want cuddles.” Virgil did his best attempt at making a pouty face. Logan practically turned to goo from melting. How could Virgil be so adorable? 

Virgil yawned, clearly incredibly tired. 

“Oh, that’s right. You didn’t get much sleep last night. We should probably go to bed.” Virgil pouted a little more, but Logan forced himself to ignore his incredibly cute boyfriend. 

“What if I don’t want to move? What if I’m too tired to get off of this couch?” Virgil asked.

“Then I will carry you up those stairs, with your permission of course.” 

“You couldn’t.” 

Logan raised an eyebrow.

“Fine then, prove to me that you can carry me up those stairs. Do it.” Virgil crossed his arms, expecting to be proven right. What he didn’t expect was for Logan to stand up and pick him up, carrying him bridal style. He struggled a little bit up the stairs, but he made it to the bedroom without even coming close to dropping his boyfriend. He practically tossed Virgil onto the bed of the guest bedroom where Virgil was staying. 

“Damn, you’re stronger than you look,” Virgil said, eyeing Logan with a newfound respect and adoration. Logan cleared his throat. 

“Thank you. Now if you excuse me, I’m going to bed. I suggest you do the same.” 

Logan walked into his room and after quickly changing and getting ready for bed, slipped under his sheets and closed his eyes, falling into a deep sleep. 

* * *

Virgil couldn’t sleep. He had a million things on his mind, his anxiety working overtime. Virgil looked at the digital clock sitting on the bedside. It was 3 am and Virgil had been lying there for way too long. He climbed out of bed and grabbed a blanket and pillow, carrying them out of the room. He lightly knocked on Logan’s door, and when nobody answered, he opened it just enough to look in. 

Logan was asleep in his bed, his hand hanging limply off the side. Virgil tiptoed his way into the room and set up the blanket and pillow on the floor, laying down right next to Logan’s bed. He took Logan’s hanging hand and held it, hoping it would comfort him. 

“Virgil, are you okay?” he heard Logan ask sleepily.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.” Virgil went to pull his hand out of Logan’s but Logan held it tight. 

“If you can’t sleep, you can sleep here tonight. I can’t promise it will help you, but you can try,” Logan mumbled, burying his face into his pillow and falling back asleep. His hand was still holding Virgil’s. Virgil smiled at it, remembering the first night that they kissed. 

He closed his eyes and tried to relax. Feeling Logan’s hand right there, reassuring him that he wasn’t alone, helped him a lot. In almost no time, he had also fallen asleep. His fingers intertwined with Logan’s held on loosely, eventually slipping out of the other sleeping boy’s grip and falling by his side. But neither boy woke up, both were too exhausted.

* * *

Dot woke up to make breakfast, as she usually did on a Saturday morning. Her husband Larry woke up just a few minutes behind her and came downstairs to make coffee.

“Did you see the boys?” Larry asked his wife. Dot shook her head. Larry motioned for her to follow him as he led the way up the stairs and towards Logan’s room. 

Dot saw Virgil curled up on the floor, with a blanket and pillow that clearly belonged to the guest bedroom. Logan was on his bed, his hand hanging off the bed, almost as if it was reaching towards Virgil. 

“Aw, aren’t they adorable?” Dot said quietly. Larry nodded and the two of them headed back down the stairs, careful not to wake up the sleeping boys. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everybody!  
> I had no clear plan with this chapter, but I'm happy with how it turned out.  
> I actually had no idea what movie for these two to watch, so I asked the discord server. My amazing friend Lav (thank you lav) suggested that they watch horror and the first one that came to mind is The Shining, which i love. So that's what I went with.  
> It was Logan's turn to be adorable. Virgil got his time to shine with the makeup, but Logan gets to be scared and cute. Virgil thinks he's the best horror movie buddy because it means more cuddles. (and maybe more kisses... Idk...)  
> Anyways, I hope you guys liked the chapter and thank you for reading this far! I can't believe that we're almost at chapter 20. I feel like I should do something special, but I have absolutely zero ideas about what could be considered special.  
> Much love and gratitude,  
> Turtle 😊🐢


	20. Uncle Thomas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another gig for the Others, as well as an unexpected guest at the performance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> seriously, someone needs to stop letting me write chapter summaries. i suck at it. 
> 
> warnings: cursing, rude hand gestures, some Victoria mentions, sexual talk (i think that's it, but let me know if i missed anything)

Janus woke up, his arms wrapped around Patton and Patton’s head was nuzzled against his neck. Janus loved waking up cuddling his boyfriend, it was relaxing. But he knew that it couldn’t last forever. Janus had plans today. He had to call his uncle, and then his band had a gig in the evening. Janus didn’t even know if the other two band members remembered that they had to perform. 

The small boy in Janus’ arms started to squirm, beginning to wake up. Janus loved it when Patton would wake up and greet his boyfriend with a cute kiss on the nose, which Janus would return with a quick kiss on the mouth. It was almost a morning ritual for them. Before Janus was fully aware of it, Patton’s face was in front of his.

“Mornin’ Jan,” Patton said, his voice laced with sleepiness.

“Morning darlin’,” Janus said, smiling as Patton kissed his nose. Janus returned the kiss and then reached around Patton to grab his glasses off the table, placing them on his boyfriend’s face. 

“Wow, I can see you now!” Patton said, mock surprise on his face. “And you’re so pretty!” Janus rolled his eyes, laughing a little at the joke. 

“I smell breakfast,” Patton said. Sure enough, the smell of coffee, bacon, and eggs wafted through the house. Patton’s dads, Emile and Remy, were clearly already awake. 

“You’re saying we should actually be productive and get out of bed, aren’t you?” 

“It’s the responsible thing to do. Besides, you still have a phone call to make and you need to pack up and get ready for your show tonight. My dads are coming to this show, you know.” 

“Well, I can’t disappoint your dads. Come on, let’s go get some breakfast.” Janus pulled away from Patton, sitting up. Patton bounced out of bed and down the stairs. Janus sat up and stared at his phone, texting Virgil and Remus in the group chat, reminding them that they had a show later in the day. He doubted that either one of them were awake, but they could check their phones after they woke up. 

Janus followed his boyfriend downstairs, greeted with a warm smile from Emile and a cup of coffee from Remy. 

“Have you called your uncle yet?” Remy asked as the entire family, Janus included, sat down for breakfast.

“No. My uncle works from home, so he kind of does things on his own schedule, meaning he likes to sleep in late. It’s best to call him around lunch time, then I know that he is fully up and awake, able to have a real and serious conversation.” 

Remy smiled. “I know all about sleeping in. It’s my favorite hobby.” Emile laughed at that, confirming his husband’s love/hate relationship with sleep. 

Breakfast went by in a blur, and soon Remy was helping Janus pack up all the music equipment. 

“Ready to make that phone call?” Emile asked.

“As ready as a guy can be. I mean, how many people do you know who get to call their uncles, begging them to drive three hours so that he can save the guy and his younger brother from an abusive situation?” 

“While I don’t think this exact situation has happened to me before, I can say that it’s basic problem isn’t all that uncommon, sadly. Do you want us to stay here with you or do you want some space?” Emile asked.

“Space please.” Emile and Remy left the room, but Janus grabbed Patton’s wrist and silently begged him to stay. Patton sat down, Janus pulling him into his lap so that he could hug his boyfriend while talking to his uncle. 

Janus took a deep breath in, mentally and emotionally preparing himself for the conversation ahead of him. Then he pressed the big green button and the phone began to ring.

* * *

Logan woke up mid-fall. In his sleep, he had unconsciously been inching his way towards the edge of the bed, and now he was headed towards the ground. He gave a small shout of surprise as he landed face first on the carpet. The bed was too low for him to have time to catch himself with his hands, so his nose took most of the damage. 

“Logan? Are you okay?” a voice said next to his head. At first, Logan thought it was his father, but then he remembered who had snuck into his room last night. Virgil had been laying on the floor and Logan had been lucky not to fall right now top of him. In fact, Logan realized that he had probably been inching towards the edge of the bed so that he could hold Virgil’s hand. 

“Logan, are you okay?” Virgil repeated. Dot and Larry appeared in the door, alerted by the thud and Logan’s shout.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just had a rough landing, that’s all,” Logan said, sitting up and making sure that his nose wasn’t bleeding. Thankfully, it wasn’t. 

“Well, as long as you’re fine,” Dot said. “There’s food downstairs if you boys finally want to get out of bed and live your lives.” 

Virgil grabbed his phone to check the time. “Logan, it’s like 11:45. We slept all morning!” Virgil unlocked his phone to check a text message. “Shit! I completely forgot! I have that performance with the band this evening!”

“Well, I can bring my parents and we can come and watch. It’ll be fun,” Logan said, scooting next to his boyfriend. 

“Let’s just hope my mom doesn’t know about it. If she does, we might actually have to worry about someone kidnapping me. Her,” Virgil said solemnly. 

“You won’t have to worry about her. My parents will be there and I know Patton was planning on bringing Remy and Emile tonight. She can’t honestly think that she could get around four adults and take a teen boy away against his will. No matter what she tries. And as long as you aren’t on stage, I’ll be right by your side. I promise.” 

Virgil leaned over and gave Logan a quick kiss on the cheek, pulling back almost immediately.

“What was that for?” Logan asked, turning a light shade of pink.

“For being such a great boyfriend and supporting me. Not only about my mom, but with my music as well. It means the world to me,” Virgil said, scooting even closer to Logan and laying his head on Logan’s shoulder.

Logan smiled and rested his head on top of Virgil's head, the scent of Virgil’s shampoo and hair dye making him smile like a love sick idiot. Maybe that’s what he was, maybe it wasn’t. It didn’t matter to Logan, he just wanted to sit here with Virgil forever. 

“We should probably go get breakfast,” Virgil said.

“It’s more of a lunch at this point,” Logan replied. 

“Whatever the meal is, we should probably go eat.” The two got up and headed downstairs, finally ready to start their day.

* * *

“This is probably the nicest place we’ve ever performed at,” Remus said, his leather skirt twirling around his ankles as he bounced into the venue. His light green crop top barely covered his chest, which Virgil found both annoying and hilarious. 

“Yeah, I am amazed that I was able to book this place. We’re the opening act for another band, so we won’t get as much attention, of course. But it’s still a total score,” Janus said, carrying his guitar. 

Remy and Emile followed Patton in, who was carrying a container of microphones. 

“I’m excited to see you guys perform,” Larry said, carrying in the last of the gear. “Logan has told us so much about you guys. I’m sure you’re all as talented as he made you out to be.” 

“Why don’t you let the three of us set up our instruments and we’ll meet you outside to wait for the show to begin?” Janus asked. Patton, Logan, Roman and their families all headed out, leaving the Others to finish. 

Remus slid over to where Virgil was standing with his bass.

“So I hear that you’re living with Logan now,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Fuck you Remus,” Virgil said, holding up his middle finger and continuing to tune his bass.

“I don’t think your boyfriend would appreciate that,” Remus teased, playing with his crop top.

“You know what I meant. And leave your shirt alone, or so help me god, I will rip it up and give you the ugliest shirt I can find.”

“No subject changes,” Remus said, dropping his hands and shaking his head. “The ultimate question has yet to be answered. Have you two fucked yet?” 

“Remus, get your mind out of the gutter and leave Virgil alone,” Janus said from where he was tuning his guitar. 

“I’ve only been staying there one day and now we haven’t screwed. First of all, not everybody is eternally horny like you. Second of all, Logan won’t even hold my hand without going through this rituel of making sure I’m comfortable. Third of all, Logan is asexual and I really want to respect that. If he can respect my boundaries, I can respect his.” Remus rolled his eyes and went back to his drum set, clearly bored.

Janus walked over to his little brother. “Sorry about Remus.” 

Virgil shrugged. “Nah, I’m used to it.”

“I will say that I think what you said was very mature. About respecting Logan’s boundaries. I’m proud of you dude, glad to see that Remus hasn’t rubbed off on you.” 

“He’s only saying that because he’s done it with Patton!” Remus shouted from his seat at the drums.

“Remus, if you don’t shut up, you’ll find one of those drumsticks where you don’t want it to be!” Janus shouted. 

Virgil knew that if they continued, Janus and Remus would be fighting all evening. So he decided to put a stop to it before it started. 

“We’re basically done. Let’s go meet up with everybody else.” He set his bass down and grabbed his brother’s wrist, pulling him off stage. 

They stepped outside, followed by Remus, and searched for their group. Janus was the first to spot them, but Virgil was the first to spot the extra person who had joined the group after they had come outside.

“Uncle Thomas?” Virgil shouted from across the parking lot. His uncle turned from where he was talking to Emile, probably about cartoons, and waved at his nephew. Virgil ran towards him, hugging him. 

“Hey man,” Thomas said, hugging his nephew back.

“No one told me that you were coming to our show!” Virgil said, taking a step back. 

“That’s because I didn’t really tell anyone. My plan was to drive over to where your brother has been staying, but then he told me about this gig, and I knew I had to surprise you guys. It’s on the way, so I didn’t have to do extra driving.” 

Janus came over and hugged his uncle as well.

“Thank you so much for coming, to the show, and to help us. It means the world.” 

“Wouldn’t miss your show for anything. And of course I came to help you with my sister, I’ve dealt with her before. Not as her child, but as her younger brother. I know they aren’t the same, but I can try.” 

Patton and Logan slowly made their way over to the group. Patton linking his hand through Janus’ and Logan stood so that his arm brushed Virgil’s. 

“Are these the boyfriends you were telling me about Janus?” Uncle Thomas asked.

“Yes they are!” Janus said, wrapping his arm around Patton’s waist. “This is my boyfriend, Patton. You were talking to one of his dads a minute ago. And that guy next to Virgil,” Janus indicated to Logan. “Is Virgil’s amazing boyfriend.” 

Logan held out his hand for Thomas to shake and Thomas did just that. 

“It’s nice to meet you two,” Thomas said, smiling. “I’m glad my nephews found amazing guys like you!” 

Remy came over and stood next to his son. “Hey Thomas, long time no see,” he said, sipping on his coffee.

“Remy! Hi man!” Thomas said, hugging Patton’s father.

“Do you two know each other?” Patton asked.

“We were best friends in high school. But then Thomas moved away and we just sort of drifted. If it wasn’t for Thomas, I’d have never met your pops.” 

“Emile and I were sort of creating a cartoon together in high school. It was fun while it lasted, but it would have gone absolutely nowhere,” Thomas admitted. “They met because I forgot that Emile was coming over to work on the cartoon the same evening that Remy was spending the night. So they both slept over at my place and spent more time talking to each other than hanging out with me.” 

Remy laughed. “Now we’re happily married and have an amazing son, who happens to be dating your nephew. It’s a small world.” 

Dot and Larry walked over, joining the ever-growing group of people who were talking to Thomas. “We hate to be the ones to tell you,” Dot said. “But we should probably head inside. The boys need to be on stage in half an hour and they’ve already started letting people in.” 

The group headed to the doors. Janus, Virgil, and Remus had to separate from the group so that they could enter through the stage door, but not before Patton had stood on his toes to kiss his boyfriend. Remus raised an eyebrow at Virgil, silently wondering if Virgil was going to start a makeout session as well, but Virgil just shook his head and hugged Logan. 

“Wish me luck,” Virgil said.

“You don’t need luck,” Logan said. “You have talent.” Virgil blushed as he was ushered through the stage door, leaving his boyfriend behind. 

* * *

The show itself was probably the band’s best yet, in Janus’ opinion at least. Virgil seemed to ease up a little bit, hiding behind the speakers less than he usually did. The crowd seemed to enjoy their music, which made Janus feel very proud of their performance. 

Patton greeted him outside the stage door. “Your uncle asked me to come and invite you guys for a dinner type thing. The entire group is going.” 

“Sounds fun,” Janus said, linking his hand into Patton’s. Remus made a gagging noise behind him, and Janus heard a smacking sound, which he assumed was Virgil hitting the back of Remus’ head. He smiled and pulled his boyfriend along until they had rejoined the large group. 

“You guys were amazing!” Thomas said, hugging his nephews. 

“He’s right,” Remy said. “You guys killed it.” 

“Thanks!” Janus said.

“Dinner, on me?” Uncle Thomas asked the group. There was a round of cheering and everyone headed to the cars. 

“Um, can my nephews ride with me? I want to talk to them,” Thomas asked, unlocking his car. Virgil and Janus shared a look, a silent conversation being shared between them. 

“Sure,” Janus said, letting go of Patton’s hand. Virgil gave an apologetic look to Logan, he Logan gently nudged him towards Thomas’ car. 

“Everybody meet at the burger place just down the street. They have the best milkshakes,” Thomas said, getting into the front seat while Janus got into the front passenger seat and Virgil climbed into the back. 

“What did you want to talk about?” Janus asked once they had left the parking lot.

“I know this is really sudden, but the drive down here has given me a lot of time to think. How would you guys feel about moving and coming to live with me?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!  
> Thank you for reading this far! Wow, chapter 20! I never planned for this story to be this big, the original outline was a lot less complicated. But I'm glad that I'm doing this plot instead, it's a lot more interesting.   
> I don't have a lot of notes on this chapter. So, I'll just say thank you and I hope you enjoyed it!  
> Much love and gratitude,   
> Turtle


	21. Cuffed Pajamas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil needs to be calmed down after Uncle Thomas' big question. And who better to calm him down than his nerdy boyfriend?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warnings: anxiety attack

Virgil’s breathing basically stopped the moment his mind registered the question. Leave to live three hours away? He couldn’t do that, not after just finding a group of friends and an amazing boyfriend. 

The world around him continued to move as Virgil began to shrink into himself. Janus didn’t seem to notice his brother’s reaction, but no one could blame him because he was sitting in the front seat.

“What about our mom? Won’t she try and come to get us. She threatened to call the police and tell them that I kidnapped Virgil, who’s to say that she won’t do the same thing to you,” Janus asked. 

“Well, I can fight her legally if she tries. I know you two are almost finished with high school, and are almost ready to become legal adults, but I could always legally ask for custody, so that she can’t try to take you back home. But of course, it’s up to you two.” 

Janus agreed immediately. He turned to face his brother, but noticed that while they were talking, Virgil had slipped his headphones on over his ears and had turned on music. He sighed and turned back around to face his uncle.

“I’ll talk to Virgil about it later, I don’t think he’s feeling up to that conversation now. I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t be sorry, I understand that I’m pushing this on you suddenly that that it’s a lot to process. But I will ask that if you two do decide to come live with me, we start moving you this week, so your mother has less time to try and stop us.” 

They pulled up to the hamburger place and Virgil practically threw the door open, climbing out of the car and speed walked over to the rest of the group. Uncle Thomas turned to Janus and asked, “Is he gonna be okay?” 

“I think so. He doesn’t like change, for obvious reasons. I’ll talk to him, I promise.” Janus felt his stomach knot up as he watched Virgil head straight over to Logan and wrap himself around his boyfriend. Janus understood that Virgil didn’t want to leave, but he also knew that Logan and Patton could come and visit, or they could meet halfway. They’d find a way to make it work, as long as they were safe. 

* * *

Logan was surprised to feel Virgil’s arms wrap around his torso and feel Virgil bury his face into Logan’s shoulder. 

“Are you okay?” Logan asked. Virgil shook his head. Logan noticed that his headphones were covering his ears, but no music was being played. Logan hugged his boyfriend back, holding him, feeling Virgil shake slightly.

“I need you to try to breathe. You got that?” Logan asked. Virgil nodded and started taking deep breaths in and out slowly. 

Dot and Larry walked over to the two, noticing that something was wrong. 

“Is everything okay? Is there something we can do to help?” Dot asked.

“I think we should go home. Get some sleep,” Logan said. 

“That sounds like a good idea,” Larry said. “I’ll go start the car.” 

“Virgil darling, do you want some water?” Dot asked. “There are some water bottles in the trunk.” Logan spoke up for Virgil, deciding it was more important for him to focus on staying calm rather than talking. 

“Water sounds amazing Mom. He’ll definitely need that.” Logan disentangled his arms from around Virgil, but allowed Virgil to keep hugging him as they awkwardly walked over to the car. The two climbed into the backseat and Dot handed them two plastic water bottles. 

“What’s wrong Virgil?” Dot asked. 

“Well, from the looks of it, he’s having an anxiety attack,” Logan said, remembering his experiences with Virgil’s anxiety and what he had researched. 

The four people in the car drove in silence, all the way home. Virgil’s phone had beeped with text messages and phone calls a few times, but Virgil ignored them. When they were nearly home, Logan’s phone rang. Janus was calling, so he decided to pick up.

“Hey, I noticed you guys left as soon as we got there. Virgil isn’t picking up his phone, is he okay?” Janus asked. 

“We decided to go home. Virgil will be fine, I promise. Look, I’ll call you in the morning, but I can’t really talk right now. Bye!” Logan hung up the phone. He noticed that Virgil’s breathing had returned to normal and that he was barely shaking. 

“My uncle wants me and Janus to move in with him,” Virgil said quietly. 

“Oh honey, that’s great!” Dot said. “You’d be safe from your mother with him.” 

Virgil slipped his hand into Logan’s, holding it tightly. “I know it is great, but it makes me feel terrible. I hate the idea of moving so much.

“It sounds really stupid saying it out loud, but moving has always made me anxious, even when I was a kid. When we moved into the house I was living at with Janus, I hated it there for the first year. I can’t do that again, I can’t move. Especially three hours away. I’d miss Logan and everything I love about school. We’d have to break up the band because only practicing on weekends as well as hanging out with you and Patton just won’t work. Nothing would work.” 

“Virgil, calm down. It can’t be that bad. We’ll make it work,” Logan said, hopeful, knowing that it would definitely be stressful and straining for his boyfriend to live three hours away.

“No, it wouldn’t. You know that Logan. You’re a smart and sensible person, so don’t lie to me.” 

Logan sighed. “It won’t be easy, but it also won’t be impossible. That’s why video chat was invented, so that people could see each other and talk from long distances. And you know you could call me anytime.” 

Larry spoke up. “I’d have to double check with Dot of course, but we can always arrange with your uncle for you to continue staying with us. We have the bedroom and we could support you. Maybe you’d be a bit separated from your brother, but like Logan said: weekends, texts, and calls can make that a bit better.” 

“Ideally, I wouldn’t have to choose between my brother and my boyfriend,” Virgil muttered. 

“Ideally, you wouldn’t have to choose at all,” Logan reminded him. “Ideally, you’d be at home right now, with your parents, who would love you for who you are. But this isn’t an ideal world, so you have to make choices. Whatever you choose, I’ll support you and I know that Janus will feel the same way.” 

Larry pulled up into the driveway of the Berry residence and everyone headed inside, tired and ready to fall asleep. 

Virgil and Logan headed upstairs, getting ready for bed. 

“Hey, can I borrow some pajamas? I don’t think I’ll sleep comfortably in these jeans tonight,” Virgil said before he went into the guest bedroom. 

“Yeah, let me just go get some for you,” Logan said, running to his closet to get his NASA pajamas, handing them to Virgil once he had found them. Virgil went into the bathroom to change and came out. Logan had to keep himself from going “awww” when he saw his adorably small boyfriend.

Virgil had cuffed the bottom of the pants so that the fabric didn’t pool around his feet. The shirt was a little baggy on him and the sleeves hung off his hands. 

“You know, you could cuff the sleeves, that way you can use your hands,” Logan said, reaching over so that he could cuff the sleeves. Virgil pulled away and smirked. 

“I like them when they’re too long. That way, I can do this!” He used the hanging fabric of the sleeve to lightly smack Logan’s arm. Logan gasped in mock shock. 

“How dare you,” he teased, trying to not laugh but failing miserably. “I let you wear my pajamas, look absolutely adorable in them, and this is how I get repaid? I wish I had a way to fight back.” 

Virgil smacked him again with the sleeve, laughing along with Logan. “There’s only one way to get me to stop attacking you,” he said, sticking out his tongue like a child. 

Logan raised an eyebrow, feeling confident that he knew what Virgil was implying. “Oh?” 

“Kiss me.” Virgil smacked him again. 

“Man, you just love finding excuses for me to kiss you. First it’s with a scary movie, now you want me to pay tribute to you so that you’ll stop attacking me? This isn’t fair.” Virgil smacked Logan again, a shit eating grin on his face. 

“I can continue to smack you if you want. It doesn’t bother me at all.” Virgil smacked him twice in a row. 

“Fine, but only because you’re blackmailing me,” Logan said, grabbing the front of Virgil’s shirt, which just so happened to be the one Logan had been wearing the first time he kissed, and pulled Virgil’s face to meet his. Virgil’s hands stopped smacking Logan as they wrapped around his neck. Logan let go of the front of Virgil’s shirt so that he could wrap his arms around his boyfriend’s waist and pull him onto his lap. Virgil scooted closer, not breaking the kiss. Finally he pulled away and smirked.

“I won,” he said. Logan kissed him again, gently this time, only for a split second. 

“Actually, I think I won this time,” Logan said.

“What? No. I convinced you to kiss me.” 

“Well, I convinced you to stop hitting me and I got to kiss my adorable boyfriend, who’s wearing my pajamas. Now, tell me how you won?” Logan said. Virgil just stuck his tongue out in reply. “Mhm, I thought so.” 

“I should probably head to bed,” Virgil said. “Tomorrow’s a new day and I have some big decisions to make. Might as well get a whole night of rest before the anxiety kicks in again.” 

Virgil climbed out of Logan’s lap, giving him a quick kiss goodnight before headed off to bed. Logan sat there on his bed for a moment, thinking about everything that had happened tonight. Then he grabbed his pillow and headed to the guest bedroom, making sure to be as quiet as possible.

“Logan? What are you doing?” Virgil asked when Logan closed the door.

“Last night, you snuck into my room. Now it’s my turn,” Logan said. “But this time, nobody is sleeping on the floor. Move over, I want to lay down.” 

“In bed? With me?” Virgil asked.

“Only if you’re comfortable with that.” Logan waited, hoping he hadn’t overstepped and pushed past Virgil’s boundaries. 

Virgil just scooted over and patted the empty side of the bed. “Come on ya nerd.” Logan set his pillow down and climbed into bed. He wrapped his arms around Virgil, pulling him close. 

“No being anxious allowed,” Logan said. “I will personally fight any and all anxious thoughts with logic and reason. I know that I can’t help much, but I’ll do my best.” Virgil hid his face in Logan’s collarbone, nuzzling him. 

“Thank you Logan. Having you helps.”

It didn’t take long for Logan to realize that Virgil had fallen asleep, his head still resting on Logan’s chest. Logan smiled and shifted slightly so that he could continue to hold Virgil, and then he fell asleep as well, drifting off into a calm and dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!  
> This is sort of on the short side, and I originally had completely different plans for it. But I'm saving my plans for the next chapter, so yay! instead, you guys get some cute fluffy analogical time because i'm feeling really fucking gay right now. (who am i kidding, i'm always really fucking gay.)   
> Seriously, someone should take away my rights to write my own chapter summaries. I'm not good at it and it shows.   
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thank yall for reading this far in the fic and staying interested in it!   
> Much love and gratitude,  
> Turtle 🐢


	22. Hide and Go Seek, Anxiety Edition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil needs some time to make the big decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously, I'm terrible at trying to summarize a chapter, please send help.

Virgil slept pretty well, all things considered. It helped that Logan was cuddling him all night. When he woke up, Logan was still there, holding him, and Virgil didn’t want to leave. He closed his eyes and tried to fall back asleep, but now his brain was fully awake and thinking about the decision that he had to make. As carefully as possible, Virgil slid out of Logan’s arms and off the bed, grabbing his phone before heading downstairs and sitting on the couch. He opened his text messages and read all the messages Janus had sent him the night before. 

“You’re up early,” Dot said, coming into the living room and surprising Virgil. She came and sat next to Virgil on the couch. “You don’t really strike me as a morning person. You okay?” 

Virgil set his phone down and started messing with Logan’s pajama shirt. 

“I’m just thinking about what I’m going to decide. I want to get away from my mom, of course. But not at the expense of leaving everyone and everything that I love.” 

“Larry wasn’t kidding last night about you staying here. We could change the guest bedroom around so that you could make it feel more like your own room. Of course, there’d have to be some ground rules since you’re dating Logan, but we’d love for you to stay if that is what you think is best for you. We talked it over last night, and we will personally explain everything to your uncle if you want us to.” 

Virgil thought for a minute. “Can I get back to you on that?” He asked. Dot nodded and told him to take as much time as he needed to decide. Then she headed to the kitchen so that she could make breakfast, leaving Virgil alone with his thoughts. 

About half an hour later, Logan came down stairs, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, his glasses sitting on top of his head.

“Virgil? You’re awake?” he asked, sitting next to Virgil. Virgil tried not to marvel at how cute his boyfriend looked with his hair all messy with bed head and the sleepiness written all over his face. 

“Yeah. I still have a big decision to make and I don’t think Janus or my uncle would like it if I kept them waiting. So I’m trying to think.” 

“Want me to leave you to think?” Logan asked, fixing his glasses and running his fingers through his hair, combing most of it into place. 

Virgil reached up and helped Logan finish combing his hair, absentmindedly running his fingers through his boyfriend’s soft locks. 

“No stay. I like having you around.” 

“I should hope so. We are dating,” Logan said, a mischievous smile on his face. Virgil fought the urge to sit up straight and kiss that smile off of his face. Instead he just rested his head on Logan’s shoulder and continued to think. 

“Want to think out loud?” Logan asked. “That might help you.” 

“I’m thinking about how I want to stay here with you and at this school, but I don’t want to be separated from Janus. The whole thing makes me really anxious and I don’t have my meds anymore and I know that my mom won’t pay for me to get more, I know that. I just feel like everything is falling apart.” Virgil made a motion with his hands, miming something collapsing. 

“Whatever I decide won’t be perfect, I understand that. I just have to weigh which will be better for me. Emotionally and physically and mentally.” 

“I could talk to my parents about seeing if Emile could get you an appointment. He’s a therapist that everybody trusts and I’m sure he could help you now that you aren’t seeing your old therapist anymore,” Logan suggested. “If you choose to stay there that is. It wouldn’t be practical for you to see a therapist three hours away if you go with Janus and your uncle.” 

Virgil sat quietly, having reverted back into his metaphorical shell as he thought. Logan noticed how Virgil seemed to start shaking slightly, as if the stress and anxiety of such a big decision was getting to him. 

He grabbed Virgil’s hand and held it. “Hey, deep breathes. You’re going to be okay. Do you want to go on a walk, maybe get some fresh air to help you clear your mind?” Logan asked. 

Virgil focused on controlling the shaking before nodding. “Yeah, but I think I want to go on a walk alone, if that’s okay. I just need a bit.” Logan nodded and Virgil went upstairs to get dressed. 

When he came back downstairs, Logan was already eating breakfast.

“Before your walk, do you want something to eat?” Dot asked Virgil. He just shook his head and waved goodbye as he headed out the front door. Logan didn’t think anything of it, knowing that Virgil just needed some time to himself, and went back to eating his breakfast.

* * *

Logan sat at his laptop, working on homework waiting for Virgil to come back. When he was working, he tended to lose track of time, so he was surprised when his mother knocked on his door and asked if Virgil had returned.

“No, I haven’t heard him come back. I’ll text him,” Logan said, picking up his phone and typing out a message. Dot sat down on his bed, waiting for Virgil’s reply with him, but no reply came. 

Logan tried calling Virgil, but he went straight to voicemail. He decided to call Janus, hoping that Virgil had stopped by at the Morgan household, where Janus was living with Patton. 

“Hey Logan, what’s up?” Janus answered the phone. Logan heard some cartoon playing in the background, but he was too focused on asking about Virgil.

“Hey, Virgil wouldn’t happen to be watching whatever show you’re watching with you, would he? Or just happen to be at the house with you?” 

“No, I haven’t heard from him since you guys left the burger place last night. Why? Did you lose my little brother?” Janus asked, his voice suddenly full of concern. 

“Well, he went on a walk to clear his mind early this morning, but he hasn’t come back. I’ve tried texting him and calling him, but I went straight to voicemail.” 

“He turned off his phone, he used to do that when we were younger. If he wanted to be left alone, he made sure I had absolutely no way of talking to him. I convinced him to stop doing that after a series of really bad anxiety attacks where I couldn’t help him. I don’t know why he would do it again. I’m going to drive over to your place and we’ll find him,” Janus said, immediately hanging up before Logan got a chance to reply.

“I take it he isn’t there,” Dot said. Logan shook his head. 

“Well, we all can go out and look for him. Your father and I aren’t working and I don’t think Remy and Emile are busy, so we’ll get a whole team of people if we need to. Maybe you can ask Janus where he could go if he wanted to think and be alone? Start at those places and move from there.” 

Logan agreed, that was the most logical solution. He heard Janus at the door and ran down the stairs, almost tripping at the bottom. 

Patton, Remy, and Emile, were all with Janus as Logan let them into the house. 

“So you haven’t heard from him all morning?” Janus asked, cutting straight to the chase. 

“No, I haven’t. Where are some places where he would go to be by himself?” Logan asked. 

Janus thought for a moment. “No. He only spent time at school or at home unless I dragged him somewhere. There is nowhere that is important to him that he would go to.” 

Patton coughed, which sounded incredibly fake. Janus practically turned on his heels.

“Patton darling, we both know that cough was fake. Please tell me if you know where Virgil might be,” Janus practically begged.

“I don’t know where he is, but I have an idea. He asked me not to tell you about it, but I guess I have to now.” Patton stared at his feet. 

“Well, are you going to tell us?” Remy asked his son.

“Janus, do you remember that old house that you and Virgil used to live in?”

“Of course I remember that place, I spent a lot of my younger childhood years there. When we first moved to the new house, Virgil would run away all the time when he was anxious or-,” Janus trailed off, realizing what Patton was implying. “He told you about why we have screens on the windows, didn’t he?” Patton nodded and Janus groaned. 

“What are you talking about?” Logan asked, confused. 

“The other day when Virgil helped me sneak out of Janus’ room, he told me about why there were screens on their windows. Apparently the house didn’t come with them, which is strange.” 

Janus interrupted his boyfriend, taking over the storytelling. “When we moved into that house, Virgil had already been suffering severely from his anxiety and depression, even though he was still very young. 

“The moving really messed with him, and he hated the house. So whenever he got the chance, he would try to run away back to the old house. He learned to climb in and out of the house through the windows so that he could come and go unnoticed. And soon it became a habit. He went there to calm down whenever he was anxious or on the verge of a panic attack. But I found out, after one incident where I couldn’t find him after an entire day because he just didn’t come home. So I convinced my mom to pay for someone to install screens, making sure that they were too tightly in place for Virgil to undo. 

“And I convinced him to give therapy a try, since running away isn’t a healthy coping mechanism. They gave him medications and I forgot about the other house entirely. I guess it would make sense that he would go back there now that he’s off his meds again.” Janus flopped down on the couch, clearly feeling miserable that he hadn’t connected the dots before. 

“At least we know where to look, that’s a good start,” Logan said. “Now come on, let’s go get my boyfriend before I go insane.” He ushered everybody out the door and into the cars. Patton, Janus, and him all hopped into Janus’ car and led the other cars across town to the old house. 

“He walked all the way across town?” Patton asked.

“Virgil doesn’t look it, or act like it for that matter, but he can be athletic if he tried,” Janus said, pulling onto the street. Logan immediately saw Virgil sitting on the porch of some old, abandoned house, Logan’s hoodie wrapped tightly around his shoulders.

“Who should go get him?” Patton asked. Janus sighed.

“Logan should. I’d probably yell at him for coming here and turning off his phone and that’s not what he needs. Patton doesn’t know him well enough to help with anything that he’s going through right now. There’s Emile, but I think Logan is our best bet. He genuinely cares about Virgil and knows how to take care of him and make sure that he’s okay.” 

“Did you just analize who’d be the best to go and get Virgil?” Patton asked, surprised.

“I’m really stressed out right now, please don’t judge me!” Janus said, running his fingers through his hair. Logan smiled and exited the car, jogging up the walkway towards the porch where Virgil was seated. 

“Hey,” Logan said, sitting next to Virgil. He heard the wood creak under his weight, but focused on the boy sitting next to him. 

“You guys found me?” Virgil asked. 

“Patton may have mentioned that you told him about this place, so it seemed like a safe bet that you’d be here. Are you okay?” 

“No, I’m not. I feel so stressed out right now, and I know that I’m probably overthinking this whole moving thing, but I can’t turn my anxiety off, so it just grows.” Virgil buried his face in the jacket. Logan wrapped his arms around Virgil, despite his brain shouting at him to ask for permission first. He pulled Virgil closer and Virgil crawled onto his lap, burying his face in Logan’s shoulder.

“I know what I want to choose, but I can’t help but feel like I’m making the wrong decision,” Virgil muttered into Logan’s shoulder.

“There is no ‘wrong decision,’ there’s only what you feel is best for you. Either way, you’ll be safe and we can get you to see a therapist. That’s what’s important.” Virgil nodded. 

“Thanks Logan. You know, I think you should take your hoodie back,” Virgil said, sitting up and smirking. 

“Why, is something wrong with it?” Logan asked. 

“Not really. But your cologne is really nice and I’ve worn this jacket so much that it doesn’t smell like you anymore. It was comforting, but now it’s just a jacket.” 

Logan almost started laughing, staring at the smaller boy sitting in his lap. “Just a jacket? Virgil, have I ever told you how adorable you are?” Virgil smiled. 

“You know that everybody except for the twins came, right? We might want to go and let them know that you’re okay.” 

“Does that include my uncle?” Virgil asked. 

“I’m sure that Janus called him. Hell, I’m betting that car right there is his. Why?” 

“I’ve made up my mind about where I want to stay and I want to tell everybody at once.” 

“As long as there are no more big surprises. I don’t want to have to ask where the fuck my boyfriend is just because he went AWOL for a few hours. By the way, please never do that again.” 

Virgil smiled, surprised with Logan’s cursing. “I promise not to do that again. Sorry Lo.” He grabbed Logan’s hand and pulled him down the path and towards the cars. People started to hop out of their vehicles, rushing over to Virgil to make sure that he was okay. 

“Um, can I please have everybody’s attention?” Virgil asked when everybody had gathered.

“Of course darling. What’s up?” Dot asked.

“I’ve decided what I want to do for the moving situation,” Virgil said. Uncle Thomas looked slightly hopeful.

“I want to stay here, with the Berrys. They’ve already offered to let me stay, and I don’t think I could handle moving.” Virgil looked at his feet as he spoke, as if he was afraid to face his uncle and Janus while breaking the news to them. 

Once he had finished, Janus was the first one to speak up. “If that’s what you think is best for you, then that’s what you should do. I’m glad that you made a decision, but if you ever turn off your phone again, I will drive all the way over here just to smack you upside the head.”

Thomas walked up and hugged his nephew. “I’m sad that you won’t stay with me, but as long as you’re safe, I guess it doesn’t matter where you stay. Just, be careful. Especially with your mother.” Virgil nodded and hugged his uncle back. 

Dot spoke up when Virgil pulled away from his uncle. “Let’s get you home, you haven’t eaten anything today.” 

“Food sounds nice,” Virgil said, grabbing Logan’s hand again as they walked to the car. 

“Uncle Thomas and I are packing up my things today. Tomorrow is my last day at school before I transfer. I’m gonna miss you little brother,” Janus said, giving his brother a quick hug before hopping in his car. Virgil waved at the retreating vehicle and then climbed in the backseat of Larry’s car, resting his head on Logan’s shoulder. 

“Are you sure that you’re alright?” Logan asked. Virgil nodded, closing his eyes and letting his shoulders relax.

“I’m glad I don’t have to make any more decisions for now,” Virgil mumbled. 

From the front seat, Dot turned around to face the two boys. “Why don’t we do something fun for dinner. You two want to try and learn to make your own pizza or something cool like that?” 

“That sounds like fun,” Logan said. Virgil agreed. 

“It’s like a mini pizza party!” Virgil said, making Logan laugh. 

“Mini pizza parties sound fun!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everybody!  
> I had a lot of hopes and plans for this chapter, but it didn't turn out exactly the way I want. Usually, I'd try to rewrite it, but I don't really feel like I can do better with it. So here you go. I hope you enjoyed it!  
> This fic has almost 2,000 hits, which feels so strange to me. Thank you all for the support and lovely comments and thoughts. They all mean a lot!  
> Much love and gratitude,   
> Turtle


	23. One Last Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Janus' last day of school and 'The Others' last performance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some warnings: lots of sexual talk including sexual image mentions and sexual hand gestures, some Victoria, some drinking mention

The entire group of friends were gathered around the lunch table, having a special meal for Janus’ last day at school. Thomas had agreed to convince the school faculty to let them order a pizza and have it delivered for lunch. 

Patton sat in Janus’ lap, his arms wrapped tightly around his boyfriend, clearly sad that he was leaving. The two had agreed to stay together, to try a long distance relationship. Janus promised to visit every weekend and face time whenever Patton felt like it. It wasn’t the perfect solution, but Patton was just glad that he still got to call Janus his boyfriend. 

Virgil was trying not to be too clingy, but he knew that he was going to miss his brother a lot. Even though they fought and teased each other, like most siblings do, Virgil loved his older brother a lot and it would be hard not having him around. 

Remus also seemed highly disappointed. All throughout lunch, he had been scooting closer to Janus, now with his side pressed up almost completely with Janus’ side. 

Remus’ outfit that day was a bit interesting, by far his most creative one. He was wearing a pale green sundress, with flowers that he had embroidered himself covering the fabric. But it didn’t take a detective to realize that the petals of these flowers were shaped to resemble little dicks. Nobody knew how he hadn’t been dress coded by every teacher he had seen, and nobody dared question. Both Janus and Roman had tried multiple times to convince him to change clothes, but he refused. Janus even handed him his oversized hoodie and begged him to wear it, but Remus just threw the hoodie in his locker and twirled in his dress.

“Hey, Jan,” Remus said, laying his head on Janus’ shoulder, ignoring the boy in Janus’ lap. 

Janus sighed. “What do you need Remus?”

Remus smirked. “Wanna come behind the school with me and-” he cut himself off, wiggling his eyebrows provocatively. 

Patton gasped. “Excuse me, but Janus will do no such thing. If he’s going behind the school to,” Patton wiggles his eyebrows as well, mimicking Remus. “Then he’s going with me.” 

Everyone sat at the table shocked. Remus grinned a shit eating grin, staring at Patton, challenging him. Remus moved so that his hands were visible to everyone at the table and made a hand gesture that was definitely not appropriate. Patton watched for a minute and then copied the hand gesture, earning a groan from Janus. Remus tried to keep from laughing. 

“Well, if you excuse me,” Remus said, lacing his hands around Janus’ arm. “Jan and I have to go do the doodly doo.” 

Logan’s jaw visibly dropped. “You did not just say that.” 

Remus winked at him. “Keep looking like that space boy and you’ll be next.” Virgil scooted closer to his boyfriend, clearly uncomfortable with Remus’ flirting.

“Oh don’t worry emo! You’ll have your turn. With me and with your boyfriend,” Remus teased.

“Okay, flirting with me is one thing,” Janus said. “But can you please leave my poor brother alone? Have you no shame?”

“You’ll find out how little shame I have if you just come with me and we can make things spicy!” Remus said. Logan and Roman fake gagged, clearly uncomfortable. 

Patton thought for a moment, wondering how to beat that one. He wrapped his arms tighter around Janus, still thinking of a good reply. After a few more seconds of thinking, his face light up mischievously. 

“Remus, just wanted to let you know that you’re a coward. I’m not afraid to admit that I’d take Janus behind the school just to fuck him!” Patton stuck out his tongue teasingly.

“Okay!” Janus said, stopping the strange argument before it could get any worse. “Let me make this very clear. I am not going anywhere, with anyone, to do anything. You two need to keep it in your pants. Ya nasty.” Remus and Patton pouted for a few seconds before laughing and fist bumping each other. 

Logan turned to Virgil. “Are you sure you want to stay here? With these people? These horny people? Because I will one hundred percent support you if you don’t. You know what? I might beg you to take me with you.” The entire table laughed. The conversation moved along, everyone trying to forget what had happened. 

“You know what we should do before you have to leave?” Virgil asked. “One last band performance. It can only be for us and for our families, but wouldn’t that be fun?” 

“Emo’s right!” Remus said. “I’m going to miss playing with you and terrorizing you. One last time?” 

Janus nodded. “That sounds like a great idea! I’ll talk to Uncle Thomas, ask him if he’s cool with leaving later tonight, instead of right after dinner. I’m sure he’ll be fine with that.” 

There was a round of cheering from everyone at the table. They finished up their pizza and hurried to class, each person practically begging the school day to be over. 

* * *

Logan sighed gratefully as the last bell of the day signaled the end of class. He loved school and learning things, but he loved hanging out with his friends and Virgil more. Logan walked through the busy hallways, headed towards Virgil’s last class to meet his boyfriend. 

Virgil notices Logan almost immediately and Logan is greeted with a hug, Virgil wrapping himself around Logan’s waist. 

“Are you okay?” Logan asked.

Virgil pulled away. “A little anxious about Janus leaving, but otherwise, I’m fine.” 

Logan held out his hand, silently asking if Virgil wanted to hold it. Virgil had given up teasing him for asking about boundaries, he was used to it now and seemed to consider it their special thing. Virgil laced his fingers through Logan’s and stepped closer, so that his arm was pressed lightly against Logan’s.

“You’re anxious?” Logan asked, his brow furrowing slightly. 

“Just a little bit. Not nearly enough to send me into an anxiety attack, I think. So stop worrying.” Virgil stood on his toes to kiss Logan quickly. Logan practically melted from the affection, his worry from a moment ago completely dissolving.

“Ready to go find everybody else?” Logan asked. Virgil nodded and Logan pulled him through the hallways, weaving in and out of the crowd until they came to Janus’ locker. 

“Oh gross,” Logan said when they reached Janus’ locker. Patton and Janus stood there, making out. Janus held Patton’s face in his hands, leaning down to meet his boyfriend. 

Janus broke away for a moment to glare at Logan. “Please, like you haven’t made out with my little brother. I’m leaving and I want as many kisses from my boyfriend as I can get.” 

Logan turned a bright shade of red when Janus mentioned him and Virgil, and Virgil sighed. “Can we please just go? We have to set up all the equipment if we’re performing tonight!” Janus sighed and pulled away from Patton again, dropping his hands down to his side. 

“Fine, but let it be known that I hate both of you.” Virgil stuck out his tongue at his brother and Janus did the same. 

“Will you two please stop fighting? I want the rest of the day to be perfect,” Patton said, wrapping himself around Janus’ arm. 

“Don’t worry darling, I promise that it will be perfect,” Janus cooed, smiling at his boyfriend. Virgil jokingly gagged and pulled Logan out the front door before Janus could tell him off. 

* * *

Remus twirled around in the parking lot of the venue that Thomas was able to reserve last minute. His dick dress swirled around him as he clomped along in his combat boots towards the entrance. 

“Your drummer really is an interesting person,” Thomas told Janus. Janus nodded and sighed.

“Remus has a unique way of expressing himself. But he’s a talented drummer and a good friend when he isn’t trying to peg someone.” Thomas laughed, causing Janus to smile. Remus turned around at the noise, wondering what they were talking about. 

“You guys talking about me?” He asked, rocking back on forth on his heels.

“No, we hate you too much to talk about you,” Janus teased. Remus stuck out his tongue, turned around and wiggled his ass before skipping forward towards the building, back in his own world. 

Uncle Thomas raised an eyebrow and Janus shrugged his shoulders. 

“I’m going to miss him, believe it or not. I’m going to miss all of them.”

“Even Logan?” 

“Look, I give Logan a hard time because he’s dating Virgil, and because he’s totally stealing my little brother away from me, but he’s a good kid. He’s smart, kind, and he really cares about Virgil, which is the most important. He went out of his way to learn about Virgil’s mental health problems so that he could be better equipped to help, before they started dating. I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have taking care of my baby brother.” 

Thomas sighed. “While that was a very sweet thing to say, you sound like a dad. You’ve both grown up so quickly, it makes me sad.” Janus smiled sadly, knowing that it was true. 

“Well, I’m basically a grown up anyways, might as well act the part.” 

* * *

“Will you stop making out with your boyfriend and come help me set up your microphone?” Virgil shouted from the stage into the wings, where Patton and Janus were hiding. 

Janus complained as he came up on stage, Patton riding piggyback. 

“Pat’s gotta go. You need to set up,” Virgil said, giving an apologetic look to Patton. Patton just hoped down and quickly kissed Janus’ cheek before jumping off the stage. 

Janus shot Virgil an upset look, but Virgil just smiled innocently and waved the microphone at Janus, practically begging him to set it up. Janus sighed and took the mic, and set it up. 

* * *

Patton stood, watching Janus finish setting up his gear, watched as Janus slipped the guitar over his head and strummed a few chords. Patton could feel the tears well up in his eyes, the reality of the evening sinking in. Sure, he and Janus had already talked about what Janus moving would mean for their relationship, but Patton had a hard time imagining how he’d survive without his boyfriend’s good morning kisses or cuddles. Patton enjoyed getting lost in his boyfriends eyes, but he wasn’t sure he could do that through video chat. Sure, he would still have Logan, Roman, and Virgil, so he wasn’t alone. But Patton had gotten used to having Janus by his side all the time. 

The tears began their slow and emotional trickle down Patton’s cheeks. Patton wiped them away, silently telling himself to get it together, that Janus would be safe, away from his mother. Patton walked into the venue bathroom, wanting a minute to collect himself. He heard the door and felt arms wrap around him, recognizing the scent of Roman’s hair products. 

“I can fight him for you, I will get up on that stage and challenge him.” 

“He hasn’t hurt me. You said that you’d only fight him if he hurt me,” Patton said, melting into Roman’s hug. 

“You’re crying Pat. You don’t cry for no reason.” 

“Some people do.” 

“But you aren’t. You don’t want him to leave.” 

“Of course I don’t want him to leave!” Patton slammed his hands on the side of the sink, taking his emotions out on the cold surface. Roman jumped a little at the sudden display of emotions, but he just went back to hugging Patton. 

“I don’t want him to leave Roman, but I know that I’m just being selfish. But I’m really going to miss him.” 

“You’ll see him on weekends and he said that you can text, call, or face time him at any time. He’s trying to find a balance Pat.” 

“Weekends and odd hours. Next year we go to college, and we don’t plan on going to the same school. Sure we both plan on studying nearby each other, but what if we drift apart then?” 

“Whoa, easy Patty-cakes. You’re starting to sound like Virgil, with all of his anxiety. Have you talked to Janus about these fears? Or Emile? Either one of them would listen and try to help. Hell, if you asked Logan, I’m sure he’d listen and then give you some logical argument to help you get through it. He tries his best, and it seems to work for Virgil.” 

“Mmmm, maybe I’ll talk to Janus. If I can steal him away tonight. If not, I’ll talk to my pops and tell Janus about it next time I get to talk to him.” 

“You okay Patton?” Roman said, stepping back. 

Patton nodded, wiping away the last of his tears. “I’m better. Thank you Roman.” 

Roman nodded and offered his hand, which Patton took as the two walked out of the bathroom, just in time for the show to begin.

* * *

Virgil had come a long way since the band’s first performance. He was always getting better at playing the bass, and he was much more comfortable on stage, just as long as Logan was nearby to help him. That night, seeing Logan in the small crowd, singing along and dancing with Roman and Patton, smiling and goofing off, that really made Virgil smile what was probably his first genuine smile on stage. 

Logan kept pausing his silly dancing to look up at Virgil, gazing lovingly at him, making Virgil want to melt with emotions. He was so grateful that he was dating Logan, and even more grateful that he was able to continue living near (and by near, right next door to) Logan. He stuck his tongue out at Logan, who laughed and stuck out his tongue right back before going back to dancing. Virgil fought the urge to jump off the stage and make out with his boyfriend, knowing that he had to finish this last show, for Janus. 

* * *

“Best show ever!” Remus said, jumping up and down while twirling their drumsticks. 

“Thank god I’m leaving, now I won’t ever have to look at that dress again,” Janus teased, shoving his best friend gently. Remus twirled in his dick dress before wiggling his ass at Janus, who gasped in mock surprise. Patton walked in between his boyfriend and Remus, protectively wrapping Janus in a hug. 

“Jealous much Patty-cake?” Remus asked, teasingly. 

“Leave him alone Remus,” Janus said, picking his boyfriend up and slinging him over his shoulder.

“What are you doing?” Patton said, laughing. 

“I want to kiss you one last time before I leave and I don’t want Remus to try to do anything weird.” Janus said, walking towards the car with Patton waving mockingly at Remus. 

“Virgil grabbed onto Logan’s hand as they stepped outside in the cold evening air. “I saw you’re dancing. You were adorable.”

“Not as adorable as you are all the time,” Logan said, blushing like an idiot. Virgil mumbled something about Logan being a simp, and Logan was about to ask him to repeat that louder when Virgil practically shouted. 

“Is that mom’s car?” He pointed to a random car in the parking lot, which was indeed his mother’s car. 

“Where is your mom though? Her car is here, but I didn’t see her during the show,” Logan said. 

Suddenly, a loud commotion came from the front door of the venue, as security escorted a very drunk woman off the property. Virgil literally shrieked when he saw the woman, because it was his mom. 

She looked up and saw him. “Virgie! My little nightmare!” She shouted, stumble running towards him, in her drunk manner. 

Logan stepped in front of Virgil and when Victoria was in arms’ reach, he landed an excellent left hook straight in her face. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!  
> This chapter was a wild ride to write, and it's probably a wild ride to read! We have some platonic royality, some platonic intruality, some one sided flirtatious demus, basically a little bit of everything.   
> For Remus' dress design, I'd like to thank my Fander Friends: Nik, Smoozie, and Dee for help with creating his dress. It started out with a joke, but we had so much fun with the idea that I decided to keep it since it is totally something Remus would wear. I'm glad I got to write some more Remus. He and Roman often get set to the side for this fic, mostly because I struggle with writing Roman and I can never seem to find a good place to insert Remus.   
> That cliffhanger, am I right? Every time I think we're nearing the end of the fic, my mind creates yet another plot point that I just can't miss out on using. Get ready to be full of hate for our terrible mother, Victoria!  
> Anyways, thank you so much for making it this far into the fic and still being interested! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
> Much love and gratitude,   
> Turtle


	24. Wrapped in Bubble Wrap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victoria gets what's coming to her. Logan and Virgil get a much needed break. Logan has an idea to save Virgil from his mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: Victoria (that's it, only trigger in this chapter)

The sound of his fist meeting her face was probably the second most satisfying sound Logan had ever heard. (The first being Virgil’s voice of course.) Victoria went straight to the pavement of the parking lot, her gasp echoing in the night. 

“Logan!” Dot shouted, her voice full of worry. She stopped when she saw who he had punched. “Nevermind honey. Thank you for stopping her,” 

“You little-” Victoria stood up, full of anger and ready to start clawing at Logan’s face. But Remy grabbed onto her and held her still until she calmed down a little.

“That’s my son! You all are aiding in his kidnapping!” Victoria yelled, her words slurring together. Patton and Janus came back from the car, Patton gripping his boyfriend’s hand so that Janus wouldn’t do something he might regret. 

Thomas walked over to his sister. “We aren’t kidnapping him, and you know that.” 

Victoria snarled at her younger brother. “Why are you here?” 

“Janus is moving to live with me, I’m here to make sure he’s safe.” 

“You can’t do that. They’re my sons.” 

Janus scoffed. “Pretty sure you lost the right to call me your son when you kicked me out.” 

Victoria slumped against Remy’s torso, barely holding herself up. Suddenly, she started sobbing violently. “They’re my sons, you can’t take them away from me! You can’t do that to my family! I’ve already lost so much, I can’t lose my babies too!” Logan recognized what she was trying to do instantly, another wave of rage tearing through him. He wanted to scream at the woman on the ground, wanted to tell her how much of a terrible person she was, but he knew that yelling at her wouldn’t do any good. 

“I think the children should go home,” Dot said. “Someone can take Victoria home, or call her an uber or something, but the children need to rest and not be in this situation any more.” Patton nodded, pulling Janus away, saying goodnight to everybody. Remy carefully removed Victoria’s body off of his, where she had been leaning. 

Thomas nodded. “I’ll call the uber, you guys go home. I’m sorry that tonight didn’t exactly go as planned.” Logan knew that this last statement was specifically aimed at Virgil, who was staring at his mother, his face unreadable. Virgil nodded absentmindedly. Logan held out his hand, offering it to his boyfriend. Virgil slipped his fingers into Logan’s, following him to the car. 

“You okay?” Logan asked when they were sitting in the backseat. Virgil nodded, moving closer so that his arm was pressed up against Logan’s. Dot and Larry got into the car a few minutes later, turning to make sure that Virgil was okay. Virgil nodded that he was fine. The two adults looked slightly worried, but turned back to face the front and the family headed home. 

Virgil stayed silent the entire way home, letting Logan lead him back into the house and up the stairs to Logan’s room. Logan had Virgil sit on the bed before sitting next to him. 

“Do you want to talk?” Logan asked, worried. Virgil shook his head, instead moving closer to hug Logan. 

“I shouldn’t be so shaken by that,” Logan heard Virgil mutter into Logan’s shoulder. 

“Hey, don’t say that. She’s hurt you, it’s only natural that your response is to be frightened and shaken by her.” Logan ran his hand through Virgil’s hair in a comforting sort of manner before removing his hand to rub Virgil’s back. “But you’re okay now, she’s not here. And I’ll help in any way I can. Everybody will, my parents, your uncle, Patton and his family, even Roman and Remus.” Virgil nodded, yawning from exhaustion. 

“Why don’t you lay down, try to sleep?” Logan suggested. 

“Will you lay down with me?” Virgil asked hopefully. 

“Of course!” Logan climbed all the way up on the bed and wrapped Virgil up in his arms, holding him close as they both fell asleep, exhausted from the day.

* * *

Logan woke up before Virgil did and slipped out of bed quietly. He checked his phone, seeing a text from Patton. He clicked it open.

“Emile said that Virgil should take the day off from school, because of his brother leaving and last night. You should probably stay with him, to take care of him and make sure he isn’t too depressed or shaken from last night. I can give you my dad’s number if you think you’ll need to contact him if something should happen. Take care of him!” 

Logan looked over at the still sleeping boy on his bed, smiling at the light snores that were escaping his boyfriend’s lips. He looked so at peace, safe from reality. Logan wished that Virgil would stay at peace forever, knowing that could never be the case. 

Logan headed downstairs where his parents were preparing breakfast. He showed them the text from Patton and they agreed that it was a good idea. As the three were sitting down at the table, Logan spoke up.

“I did some thinking, and I wanted to know what you guys thought of something,” Logan said, turning to his parents.

“Sure honey, what’s up?” Dot asked.

“What if Virgil tried to get legally emancipated? Last night Victoria kept talking about how he was her son and how Thomas couldn’t just tear their family apart, and I realized that legally, she could get Virgil to come home without any say. But if he was legally emancipated, he’d be free from her.” 

His parents thought for a moment. Logan didn’t know a lot about the details of the process he was suggesting, but he hoped that it would work.

“Well,” Larry began, still looking thoughtful. “That’s technically up to Virgil. Technically, he would be free of his mom, but that’s also a lot of stress, going through the legal process. That’s something that only he can decide if it’s worth it or not. You can suggest it to him, but don’t try to pressure him.” 

“You want to protect him, and we think that’s amazing darling,” Dot said, resting her hand on Logan’s. “But you can’t wrap the boy up in bubble wrap, he’s got to make the decision if he wants to wear the bubble wrap.” 

“I’ll talk to Virgil about it if he’s up for it later.” 

* * *

Virgil woke up an hour after the Berry family had finished cleaning up after breakfast. Logan made him a bowl of cereal and the two sat on the couch, watching a space documentary that they both were interested in. As Virgil was finishing up his breakfast, Logan turned to him.

“So I did a lot of thinking and I think I’ve found a solution to your problem.” 

Virgil raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And what problem would that be?” 

“Your mother.” Virgil paled as the words left Logan’s mouth. 

“We don’t have to talk about it now if you don’t want to. You are more important than anything I have to say.” 

“No, I want to hear what you thought up.” Virgil set his bowl down and turned so that he was staring straight into Logan’s eyes. Logan blushed a little bit but told himself to focus. 

“You could try for emancipation. Seperate yourself from your mother, she couldn’t try to force you back. You’d be safe! I mentioned it to my parents, and they said that it’s up to you but they’ll help with whatever you need or want.” 

“I see.” 

“They also said that I shouldn’t be too forceful on the subject, so if I’m overwhelming you with this or making you anxious, I’ll shut up. It’s not my job to wrap you in bubble wrap.” Virgil laughed.

“Wrap me in bubble wrap?” he asked, amused. Logan shrugged and explained that it was something his mother had said. 

Virgil sat and thought for a moment. “I want to talk to Janus about it, hear what he thinks. And my Uncle. But that’s a good idea. Thank you Logan.” 

“There’s no reason to thank me.” 

“Yes there is, you’re amazing. You look out for me and make sure that I’m okay. You’re amazing.” He leaned over and kissed Logan’s lips gently. Logan hummed contentedly, tugging Virgil’s arms and pulling his boyfriend into his lap. The smaller boy broke away so that he could rearrange himself so that he was practically laying on Logan’s chest, before meeting Logan’s lips for another kiss, this time much deeper. Logan smirked when he heard Virgil give a little squeak as Logan licked Virgil’s lips gently. Virgil let out a whine when Logan pulled away to breath, and Logan couldn’t help but laugh. 

“You’re adorable,” Logan said, kissing Virgil’s forehead. Virgil turned a bright pink color and moved to hide his face in his hands. Logan smirked and carefully peeled Virgil’s hands away so that he could pepper his face with kisses.

They sat there for a few minutes, just cuddling, with an occasional kiss. 

“I should call my brother, talk to him about the emancipation idea,” Virgil mumbled into Logan’s neck from where his face was. Logan hummed softly, holding Virgil close to him.

“Only if you want to.” 

“That’s right. Bubble wrap,” Virgil teased. Logan stuck his tongue out, but couldn’t help but laugh a little bit.

“I want to call him. Just give me a minute please.” Virgil untangled himself from Logan, who tried not to pout. Logan watched as Virgil grabbed his phone and headed upstairs. He heard the door to the guest bedroom close and he sighed. Hopefully things would go uphill from here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!  
> Sorry I haven't updated this story in a while. I was on vacation and I took a much needed break from this story. But I'm glad to be back and to be continuing this story!   
> I don't really have any comments for this chapter, it's pretty uneventful for the most part. Let me know if there are any grammar errors so that I can go back and fix them!   
> Much love and gratitude,   
> Turtle


	25. Dancing to the Beach Boys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Janus and Patton finally get their moment before Janus has to leave.

“I wish I had gotten a chance to punch that woman before I left,” Janus said angrily, gripping the steering wheel tightly as he drove him and Patton home. Remy and Emile were driving separately, giving the two boys a few more moments alone. But Janus was using those precious moments venting, leaving Patton to sit silently in the passenger seat. 

“I am so glad that I never have to see her ugly face ever again. Leaving her behind will be so satisfying.” Janus turned, making it off the highway. Patton’s brow furrowed, his emotions building up inside. 

Janus continued to vent for a minute or two, rambling about how much his mother disgusted him. Finally, Patton had enough.

“Jan, would you please shut up for a minute?” Patton shouted, slamming his fists on his thighs. Janus stopped mid sentence, taken aback by Patton’s outburst, unknowing that this was his second one tonight. 

“Patton, what’s wrong darling?” Janus asked, turning into an abandoned parking lot and stopping the car so that he could turn and face his boyfriend.

“Tonight was supposed to be about us, about enjoying being together before you leave. And all you can talk about is your mom! I know you hate her and that you’re angry, but I don’t want to have to say goodbye after I have to listen to you not pay attention to me!” Patton felt the hot tears welling up in his eyes, so he reached up to wipe them away, to no avail. 

Janus sat for a moment, just a moment, letting Patton’s words sink in. Then, he leaned forward and wrapped his boyfriend in a hug.

“Patton I am so sorry. Tonight is about you, about us, and I ruined it. I wish I could make it up to you.” Now Patton was full on sobbing, holding onto Janus for dear life. Janus just held him, running his hand through Patton’s hair, comforting him. 

“I’m sorry Janus, I’m being selfish,” Patton mumbled into Janus' shoulder.

“Don’t apologize for that,” Janus said. “Sometimes, being selfish is good. Wanting my attention, that’s good and I can’t blame you for it.” Janus kissed Patton’s forehead. 

“The rest of the night, I’m yours. Whatever you want to do, we’ll do it. Until I leave, you have my full attention.” Janus kissed Patton’s forehead a second time, holding him as close as he could as he leaned over to Patton’s seat. 

Patton let go of Janus’ shoulder, letting Janus sit back in his own seat. Janus grabbed Patton’s hand, holding it and tracing circles on Patton’s knuckles with his thumb. 

“So, what do you want to do darling?” Janus asked, continuing to trace the tiny circles on Patton’s hand. 

“We won’t be able to go to the school dance.” Patton thought. 

“You want to dance? Consider it done.” Janus got out his phone with his free hand and got out of the car, finally letting go of Patton’s hand. He made his way to the other side of the car and opened Patton’s door, dramatically offering to help him out. Patton giggled and accepted, stepping out of the car and smiling. Janus slammed the door close, not taking his eyes off Patton and held him as close as physically possible. Using his free hand to turn on the music, and setting his phone on the top of the car. 

“Wouldn’t It Be Nice” by the Beach Boys turned on. Janus had remembered Patton saying that it was one of his favorite songs, and had added it to his playlist when they first got together.

Patton gasped. “It’s my song!” he said. Janus shook his head.

“It’s our song now.” Patton smiled and stood on his tiptoes to plant a quick kiss on Janus’ lips. Then he started to rock side to side in time with the music, leading Janus as they danced, not completely in time with the song, but not completely on their own. Patton’s head rested, pressed up against Janus’ chest, Janus’ face was buried in Patton’s soft hair. 

“You know, if you really want, I can come and visit for the school dance. It will be much fancier than this,” Janus commented. Patton smiled.

“That would be awesome.” Patton let the silence hang in the air, it was comforting. He could hear Janus’ heartbeat, feel Janus’ warm breath, and he didn’t want this moment to end. 

“Wanna twirl darling?” Janus asked. Patton nodded. Gently, as if they were professional dancers performing the perfect dance, Janus pulled away from Patton and twirled him, enjoying the happy giggle that Patton made. 

In both of their minds, the song didn’t last long enough. It faded out and the two continued to sway and dance in the silence. Finally, Janus stopped them, lightly taking hold of Patton’s chin and pulling his face up to meet Janus’ lips, planting a delicate kiss on them. Patton wrapped his arms tightly around Janus and kissed him back, less delicate this time and more desperate. With barely any effort, Janus picked Patton up, holding the smaller boy up so that their faces were at the same level. Patton smiled into the kiss, which caused Janus to smile. 

Finally, the two broke away and Patton looked at his watch. “We should head home, my dads are probably already there and wondering where we are.” Janus nodded, leading Patton to the front passenger door and opening it dramatically, offering Patton a hand as he climbed into the seat. Patton accepted it and Janus closed the door for him before heading to the driver’s seat. As they drove home, Janus reached over and laced his fingers through Patton’s, the two sitting in a comfortable, blissful silence. 

They pulled up in the driveway and walked into the house, hand in hand. Emile and Remy’s car was in the driveway, but the two had already gone to bed. So Patton and Janus crept into Patton’s room as quiet as possible and got in bed. Janus wrapped his arms around Patton, peppering his face with soft and gentle kisses. 

“I don’t want you to leave,” Patton mumbled when the two had begun drifting to sleep.

“For you darling, I’d stay. Just say the word, I’ll never disappear.” 

“Don’t be silly Jan,” Patton squinted at his boyfriend, unable to see him fully without his glasses, which were on the stand next to the bed. 

Janus leaned over and planted a soft kiss in between his eyes, to ease the tension from the squinting. “I’m not. Tell me and I’ll do whatever I can to stay, to make you happy.” 

“I can’t ask that of you, you’ll be safe with your uncle.” Patton leaned his head into Janus’ shoulder. “It’ll just take some getting used to. But I’ll still get to see you and we’ll still get to talk. And distance makes the heart grow fonder, right?” Janus smiled and mumbled his agreement. 

“Besides, that means the moments I do get to see you in real life, to kiss you and hold you and laugh with you, that means those moments will be so much more special. So much more unforgettable. I just have to look on the bright side, right?” 

“You’re right Pattycake. Looking on the bright side,” Janus mumbled into Patton’s hair, fighting sleep so that he could lay here, continuing to talk to Patton. 

Patton leaned up a bit and placed a gentle kiss on Janus’ cheek. “Sleep, I’ll still be here in the morning.” Janus mumbled something that even he didn’t understand as he drifted off, Patton in his arms, the Beach Boys playing in his head.

* * *

Janus unpacked his stuff in the room his uncle had given him. Saying goodbye to Patton was hard, almost too hard for Janus to handle. He could see Patton trying not to be sad, plastering a smile on his face and giving Janus lots of kisses before heading to school. Janus wanted to visit Virgil and say one last goodbye, but Logan had told him that Virgil was still sleeping. 

As he unpacked, Janus turned on his playlist and connected it to his bluetooth speaker, letting the room fill with the sound of his music. He sang along as he unpacked, enjoying all of his favorite songs. Then the opening notes to “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” began to play. Janus stopped singing, listening to the words. This was Patton’s song, the song Janus had slipped into his playlist because of how much it made Patton smile whenever it turned on. Janus loved Patton’s smile, it was bright and larger than life itself. And now it was three hours away. 

The song faded out into the next song, but Janus’ mind was still on Patton as he finished unpacking. He wasn’t singing anymore, just wishing he could give Patton the biggest hug ever. Patton deserved so much more than a boyfriend that can’t be there for him. He didn’t deserve Patton, and yet Patton wanted him. Janus didn’t plan on disappointing Patton if possible. He’d be the best boyfriend, even with the distance. 

As these thoughts were swirling around in his head, his phone’s music stopped playing as he received a call. Janus checked the caller ID, grateful to see Virgil’s name. 

“Hello my darling younger brother,” Janus greeted Virgil as he picked up the phone. “What’s up?” 

Janus sat down on his bed, listening to Virgil. 

Suddenly, Janus shouted. “Wait what are you thinking of doing?” 

Thomas came running up the stairs. “Is everything okay Janus?” he asked. Janus pointed to the phone.

“Virgil wants to get emancipated from our mother.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!  
> I wanted Janus and Patton to have a moment before Janus left for his new home with Uncle Thomas. Plus it's healthy that Patton made his feelings about Janus leaving known to Janus. Good relationship goals. 👌  
> Each of the boys have their own playlist on spotify now! Here's the master post: https://genderqueer-turtle.tumblr.com/post/628913882027655168/music-to-the-heart-playlists  
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you enjoy the playlists if you look into those!  
> Much love and gratitude,  
> Turtle


	26. Weekends are Janus' Favorites

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first weekend since Janus moved in with Thomas. There's a much needed discussion on Virgil's plan, plus some fluff for our adorable couples.

For Janus, the weekend didn’t come soon enough. He woke up early on Saturday morning to drive the three hours to be with Virgil and Patton. He knew that Virgil would be asleep early in the morning, so he invited Patton out for breakfast. As he drove, Janus’ mind wandered to the conversation he had with Patton last night. How excited Patton seemed over the phone to see Janus, how he couldn’t wait for their breakfast date, how he missed him so much. Janus wished the drive was shorter simply so that he could hold his boyfriend longer. 

When he pulled up in Patton’s driveway, he had barely gotten out of the car before Patton was out the door and hugging him. 

“I missed you so much,” Patton whispered, clinging to Janus’ shirt. Janus kissed Patton’s forehead, laughing softly. 

“I missed you too darling. Now, what would you like for breakfast?” Janus led Patton to the passenger door, opening it dramatically. 

“Pancakes sound nice.” Janus nodded and hopped into the drivers seat, ready to take his boyfriend on the best breakfast date ever.

* * *

Virgil cuddled close to whatever was holding him. It was warm and gentle, holding him gently. It didn’t take long for Virgil to wake up enough to realize that the warm thing was Logan. 

“Good morning,” Logan said, squinting down at Virgil. Virgil smiled and sleepily said good morning. He tried not to be too disappointed when Logan climbed out of bed and put his glasses on. Virgil watched as Logan walked around the room, getting ready for the day.

“Janus is visiting today,” Logan said as he was fixing his hair. Virgil had buried himself back into the covers, trying to fall back to sleep.

“You should probably get up so that you’re fully awake when he gets here,” Logan continued, walking over to the bed and sitting down next to Virgil. Virgil’s hand appeared from under the covers and held onto Logan’s hand. Logan smiled, thinking about how cute tired Virgil was. 

Virgil made a noise from under the blankets that Logan didn’t recognize, but he thought it sounded like a groan. 

“Come on Virge, breakfast time.” Virgil groaned but climbed out of bed. His hair stuck up in all directions and the pajamas that he had borrowed from Logan were all wrinkled. 

“You’re adorable,” Logan said. Virgil just mumbled something about needing his energy drinks. 

“I’ll text Janus to pick you up a drink on his way here. For now you’ll have to do with orange juice or coffee.” Logan ran his fingers through Virgil’s hair, fixing it so that it wasn’t a huge mess. 

Downstairs, Dot and Larry were already up and finishing up with breakfast. Dot said that she had saved each of the boys a plate of cinnamon rolls if they wanted them and Logan happily spoke for still sleepy Virgil. Logan led the yawning boy into the living room, carrying the cinnamon rolls. The two sat on the couch and Logan turned on the tv, hoping that Virgil would wake up with the noise. Virgil just cuddled up against Logan, finding comfort in the warmth, and began to drift asleep again. 

Logan sighed but let Virgil continue sleeping, deciding that he probably needed it. With school, and his brother leaving, Virgil’s mental health hadn’t been the best this past week and Logan was just glad that Virgil was feeling fine right now, disregarding the exhaustion. 

Logan texted Janus, asking for the energy drink, and ate his breakfast in near silence. The tv continued to play but Logan wasn’t really paying attention. He was too busy admiring Virgil and thinking about the emancipation.

* * *

Patton knocked excitedly on the door. Janus’ hands were full of multiple energy drinks, all of Virgil’s favorite flavors. Larry answered the door and let them inside.

“Hello Janus! I hope you’re enjoying your new home and that the new school is good.” Larry said. Janus nodded and said that his new school was fine. 

“The boys are in the living room. I think Virgil’s asleep.” Patton led the way into the living room and had to keep from cooing when he saw Virgil sleeping. 

“He’s so cute!” Patton stage-whispered, trying not to wake Virgil. Logan smiled, agreeing with Patton. Janus just walked over and set all the energy drinks down on the coffee table. 

“You think he’s cute now, but you're not the one who has to wake him up on a school morning when he’s like this. It’s torture,” Janus said, sitting down on the couch. Patton came and sat next to him, smiling when he felt Janus’ arm wrap around his waist. 

“Roman and Remus are meeting us at the park after lunch, but for now, it’s just the four of us,” Patton said. “Should we wake him up?” 

Janus nodded. “He has his drinks now and we need to talk about this whole emancipation thing. It’s a big deal.” Logan nodded and gently shook Virgil awake, who did not seem happy about it. But once he was handed an energy drink, he seemed a bit happier. 

“So, you’re thinking about emancipation,” Janus said, his words slow. Virgil nodded, taking huge sips of his drink. 

“I want to be free of Mom.” 

“Have you looked into the legal requirements for emancipation?” 

Virgil shook his head sheepishly. “I’ve kinda been busy with school.” 

Janus smiled. “Well luckily for you, I did look into it. Emancipation isn’t easy in the slightest. First of all, you need to have a steady source of income, a job. Second of all, you need to be able to handle your own finances. You don’t have a job and handling finances isn’t easy.” 

Virgil’s mouth shaped into an o. “That’s a lot…” He instinctively grabbed onto Logan’s hand, using his boyfriend to keep him calm as his mind wrapped around the reality of it all.

“Now, there is always the option that Uncle Thomas could ask for legal custody. There’s enough against mother that it wouldn’t be too hard. I mean, her many long business trips count as child neglect since she left us home alone.” 

Patton smiled. “You sound like a lawyer, you’d be amazing at that.” Janus shook his head. 

“Not interested in studying law. Cosmetology, remember?” Janus muttered before turning back to his brother.

“So what do you want to do?” Virgil shook his head, still processing everything. 

“I don’t know. Nothings easy, there’s so much.” Logan squeezed Virgil’s hand, trying to calm him down. He could tell that Virgil’s anxiety was catching up with him. Virgil squeezed back, remembering to breathe. 

“I can get a job, that can’t be so hard, right?” Virgil asked.

“You’ll have to get a work permit from the school, but you have good grades so they’ll probably give you one. And then yes, you can get a job and that’ll be easy.” 

Logan spoke up. “For the finances, I can help. I’m good at math and I want to help in any way I can. I know that technically you’re supposed to know how to do this, but a little help never hurts.” Janus agreed, having Logan to help would be a good idea. 

Virgil sighed, becoming more comfortable as they figured things out. 

“Now that all of that is sorted out, you guys ready to go to the park?” Patton asked. 

“Virgil has to change out of pajamas unless he wants to look like a sleepy zombie all day,” Janus teased. Virgil stuck his tongue out at his older brother playfully before heading up the stairs to get dressed. He came back down a moment later fully dressed in his usual skinny jeans and a band tee, Logan’s hoodie wrapped around his shoulders. 

The four climbed into Janus’ car, Patton in the front with Janus, Logan and Virgil in the backseat. Janus turned on his music and all four sat in the car singing. Finally, they reached the park and they greeted the twins. Remus practically murdered Janus with his huge, crushing hug. The group of friends sat at a picnic table, joking around and laughing. In the evening, they went out and bought sandwiches from a local deli, enjoying each other’s company.

Multiple times, Roman and Janus threatened to throw Remus into the duck pond if he kept being his usual inappropriate self, but Remus wouldn’t stop. After a while, Roman and Janus shared a look before getting up and working together to pick up Remus as best as they could. Remus wouldn’t make it easy, he kicked and flailed around the entire time until the two others dropped him. Once he was on the ground, Remus swept their legs so that they were falling too. What he didn’t expect was for them to fall on top of him, leaving a pile of laughing teenage boys on the grass. 

The sun started to disappear from the sky. Remus complained about that a lot, claiming that the sun was homophobic for not letting them hang out long. Everybody just laughed at that and said their goodbyes. Janus and Patton dropped Logan and Virgil off before heading back to Patton’s house. Once they got there, the two got out of the car and stood in front of the door.

“I guess this is goodbye until next week,” Patton said disappointedly.

“What?” Janus seemed surprised. “I’m spending the night at your place, I’ve already talked to your dads about it. The weekend is two days, tomorrow I spend the entire day with you before heading home. I told you that we could make this work darling, well this is me making it work.” Patton let out an excited squeal and pulled Janus forward, their lips meeting. Patton was standing on the very tips of his toes to reach Janus’s face, so Janus let his arms snake around his boyfriend to pick him up and hold him closer. Patton let out a giggle, their lips still pressed together. They only broke apart when Patton needed to breathe. 

“Are you going to set me down?” Patton asked. Janus studied him for a moment, his face unreadable.

“No, I don’t think I am. You see, you are positively adorable and I want to hold you forever. Since that is not physically possible, I’ll just hold you for as long as I can. Plus you remind me of a cute little koala wrapped around me like that.” Patton’s face turned a bright shade of red and he struggled with words to respond with. So Janus just gave him another quick kiss before struggling to open the front door and carry Patton inside.

* * *

Virgil flopped on the bed, letting out a sigh of both relief and despair. 

“Well that’s not a good sound,” Logan said. “What’s on your mind?” 

“This whole emancipation thing. Is it a mistake?” Virgil said, grabbing a pillow and holding it tight. Logan sat down next to Virgil, offering his hand to hold. Virgil instead dropped the pillow and hugged Logan, burying his face in Logan’s chest. Logan smiled and let his fingers comb through Virgil’s hair. The dye was fading and Logan made a mental note to get more so Virgil could be happy. 

“Well, you’re not making a mistake by wanting to be safe and free of your mother. That’s a good thing. If you’re anxious about the emancipation process, there is always Janus’ suggestion, your uncle taking legal custody on the grounds of child neglect.” 

Virgil shook his head gently, his face still buried in Logan’s shirt. “I can’t do that. I’ll have to move in with my uncle if that’s the case. I love him, but I can’t do that.” 

“Then don’t do that. If it makes you unhappy you shouldn’t do it. But I know that whatever you decide, I’ll support and help you, Janus will support and help you. Even Patton and Roman. I can’t speak with complete certainty for Remus, he’s a bit of a wild card, but I’m sure he’ll support you.” Logan’s voice was soft and gentle, the sound of it sent waves of calm through Virgil. 

“For now, would you like a distraction? You don’t have to make the decision right this second and it might be nice to focus on something else.” Virgil nodded and sat up. Logan led him to his desk, where his xbox was hooked up to his computer monitor. 

“How about some video games?” Logan suggested. “And if not that, we can watch a movie right here, no walking up and down the stairs required. Although the screen is much smaller.” 

Virgil said that video games sounded amazing and after a few minutes of searching, the two decided to play a street fighter game. They sat there, having fun beating each other’s avatars up. Logan would claim multiple times that Virgil was cheating by kissing Logan’s cheek so that Logan would be distracted long enough for Virgil to K.O. his boyfriend. Virgil would say that it wasn’t his fault that Logan’s head wasn’t in the game and that he was easily distracted. But overall, the two had a lot of fun and Virgil’s mother and the emancipation were not thought about for the rest of the evening. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!  
> So i did some research on emancipation and while the laws vary depending on the state, the basics are that you have to be a teen, at least around 14 years old, you have to have a steady source of income, and you need to be able to financially support yourself all on your own. It's a lot of work, not easy at all.   
> Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter! Sorry that it took me what feels like forever to get it done. School's been a huge pain but I'm glad I get to take breaks for writing.   
> Much love and gratitude,  
> Turtle :)


	27. When We Were Younger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remember when you were a kid and everything was happy? So do the boys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: slight talk of child neglect, drinking, Victoria

“Why are you wearing that?” Janus asked, holding back the long and dramatic sigh he felt coming up. “You know I hate that dress.” 

Remus grinned mischievously at Janus through the video call. He twirled his dress, the little dick flowers spinning as Remus giggled. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You love this dress more than you love me!” 

“I must not love you at all then.” Remus sighed and flopped down in his chair. 

“What’s up Remus? Why’d you call at 11:30 on a Monday night? You do realize that we have school tomorrow, right?”

“School doesn’t matter. I needed to ask you something important.”

“What’s up?” 

Remus looked down at his dress, playing with the fabric. “Remember when we were kids?” 

“Of course I remember when we were kids.” 

“Hold on, I wasn’t done talking.” Janus could count the times he had seen Remus act serious on one hand, this was one of those times. 

“Remember how I’d get into fights with Roman and my mother would try to put me in time out, so I’d sneak out to your house and you’d let me hide there until my mom came to get me?” Remus asked, his voice soft. 

Janus remembered. Mrs. Prince would knock on the door and invite Janus over if Remus came home. Virgil would tag along because their mother was never home. They would basically live with the Prince family until their mother returned from whatever work trip she was on. They were all so small back then, so happy.

“Yeah, I remember.” 

“You remember what you’d say whenever I complained to my mom?”

“I’d say that I wish I had your mom, because she loved you. She was home, showing you that she loved you. I was so jealous of your family. So whole, so full of love. I wanted that, for me and Virgil.” 

“Even back then, you were so serious. You were just a kid and yet you knew that your mom didn’t love you, not how she was supposed to. You let Virgil tag along too, you didn’t want him to grow up like you were growing up. He got to be a kid, a real kid. Would you go back and change that? Change your family so that you were happy?” 

Janus thought for a moment. “I don’t know, I can’t say for sure. It’d be nice to have a happy family, with both my parents and everything. But growing up like that shaped me into who I am now, and I don’t know if I want to be anyone else.” 

“That makes sense.” 

“Why did you ask Remus? Why bring that up?” 

Remus shrugged his shoulders playfully, back to his usual chaotic self. “I don’t know, it just popped into my head and I thought I’d ask.” 

“Would you change your past if you could?” Janus asked. He thought it was only fair that Remus answer the same question.

“Of course not silly! If I changed the past, I wouldn’t be the chaotic, gay boy I am now! And life would be soooo boring if I wasn’t who I am. Who else could keep you on your toes like I do? Do you want a boring best friend?” Remus grinned.

“No, I’m happy with my best friend being just the way he is.” Remus and Janus laughed and joked around for a bit, eventually hanging up, the time on the clock reading 2 a.m.

* * *

Logan and Virgil sat on the bed, playing video games. Logan was completely destroying Virgil, who was still struggling to understand the different actions. 

“It’s almost like you’ve never played video games,” Logan teased. 

“I barely play. Only when I was at Remus’ house,” Virgil said, groaning as he was knocked out yet again. 

“At Remus’?”

“Whenever we’d spend the week there, Janus and Remus would play video games. Most of the time, I’d watch. They told me that I was too young and that the games were too violent, but they’d let me sit and watch. Probably because there was nothing better for me to do. I played a handful of times, but I never lasted long enough to understand any of the controls.” 

“You guys spent a lot of time at the Prince house?” Logan asked. 

“All the time almost. Mrs. Prince would come pick us up whenever my mom was out of town, and make us stay at her house until she got back. So we’d be there for days, weeks, sometimes months on end. I think I spent more time there than at my real house.” 

Logan thought about this for a moment. The more he found out about Virgil’s childhood, the angrier he felt. 

“So that’s why you and Remus are like siblings.”

“Yup, he’s the sibling I never wanted and would throw out the window if I was given the chance.” Logan and Virgil laughed. “I’m kidding. Remus is nice, he cares a lot. He’s just too chaotic for anyone to realize that he cares.” 

“What about Roman? If you spent so much time with Remus, surely you spent time with Roman. So why didn’t you guys know each other before all of the band stuff?” 

“Roman and Remus didn’t get along at all when they were kids. I say that like they get along now, but back then, it was worse. They were always at each other’s throats. Two loud and dramatic children fighting for the center of attention, it would never have worked out. 

“Since Remus was Janus’ best friend, Roman ignored Janus for the most part. And since I followed Janus everywhere, I never got the chance to talk to Roman. Besides, he was always busy playing with you or Patton.” 

“Ah, I see. I can’t believe I never paid attention to you when we were kids.” 

“I was a quiet kid I guess. Or that’s what Janus likes to tell me.” 

“You must have been. I remember Janus and Remus. They were so loud.” 

“Besides, that doesn’t matter. You can pay attention to me now.” Virgil finally set down his controller and scooted over so that he was leaning against Logan.

“You want me to kiss you,” Logan said. Not a question, a fact. Virgil feigned surprise. 

“How ever did you guess?” 

Logan leaned over and gently kissed Virgil. “You know what? I can definitely tell that you spent a lot of time with Remus. You do have a dramatic streak.” 

“Now that you know my deep dark past,” Virgil teased. “I must know yours. So tell me, what’s your secret Logan Berry?” 

Logan laughed. “No secret. I’ve lived here, in this very house my whole life. Awesome parents, awesome friends, awesome school. Nothing worthy of notice. Just your average teenager.” 

“That can’t be true. Everyone has at least one interesting story they can tell.” 

“Not me.” 

Virgil studied him for a moment. “Fine, be like that. I’ll find out what your interesting story is. Even if I have to bribe Patton or Roman for it.” This time it was Logan who dramatically gasped.

“You’d convince my own friends to betray me? How dare you?” 

“Oh I dare. I still can’t believe that you’re trying to tell me that I’m dating the most boring person in existence.” 

“I never said I was boring! Just average!” Virgil laughed. 

Logan looked over at the clock. It was almost Midnight. 

“We should probably head to bed. Tomorrow is Tuesday, which means we have school tomorrow.” 

“Sounds exactly like what a boring person would say,” Virgil teased. 

“Shut up, I’m not boring,” Logan grumbled, turning off the xbox. 

Virgil shrugged his shoulders. “If you say so.” 

Virgil climbed into the bed next to Logan, absentmindedly playing with his boyfriends hair. He was about to fall asleep when Logan spoke.

“You really want to hear an interesting story about me?” 

“Only if you want to tell me.” 

“Okay, so there was this one time that Roman got it into this head that because Remus was more chaotic, that meant he was the better twin. Probably because Remus was always getting in trouble, which meant that he got more attention from their mother. Not that Roman didn’t get any attention, he definitely wasn’t lacking in that department. 

“But Roman insisted on doing something chaotic, something that would beat anything Remus had ever done. And he insisted that Patton and I do it with him.” 

“What did you guys do?” Virgil asked, propping himself on his elbows so that he was sitting up.

“Hide in a Target until it was closed. Spent the night inside the store.” 

“What?” Virgil was surprised. He was not expecting that. 

“Yup. We hid in the clothing section, inside the racks. We were so sure that we were going to get caught, but the security guards weren’t very good at their job. We didn’t do much in the store, just walked around, played games, made sure not to touch any of the stuff. The next morning, we slipped out after they had opened. No one knew that we were there.” 

“What about your parents? Didn’t they ask where you were?” 

“My parents thought I was spending the night at Roman’s house, Roman’s parents thought he was spending the night at Patton’s house. Patton’s parents thought he was spending the night at my house. It was all an elaborate plan that Roman came up with so that we wouldn’t get in trouble.  
“I think Remy knew about it, but he didn’t get us in trouble. He’s pretty chill and I get the feeling he would have joined us just for the fun of it if it weren’t for Emile.” 

“How long ago was this?” 

“Two years ago.” 

“Wow. See, I told you everyone has at least one story worth telling.” 

“And I proved to you that I wasn’t boring.” 

“I was teasing. I didn’t think you were boring. I think you’re amazing.” 

The two laid back down on the bed, falling asleep almost instantly. The two were exhausted. They cuddled close together, Logan holding Virgil close while Virgil’s hand rested in Logan’s hair. When Dot came in the next morning, she made sure to get a picture to tease them with later.

* * *

If there was one thing Victoria Black was good at besides her job, it was getting drunk. She laid on her bed, a glass of wine in her hand, the bottle next to her on the side table. On her lap was a photo album, a book of memories. 

The album didn’t actually hold a lot of pictures. She wasn’t around enough to get some of her children. Most of the pictures were from before her family fell apart. Pictures of her wedding day, of her and her husband being happy together. On their honeymoon, when they went to the Caribbean, spent whole afternoons tanning on the beach together. 

She turned the page and saw a whole set of pictures of baby Janus, so small and innocent. She sobbed ugly tears, tears of a drunk woman. She missed her baby, missed the days when she’d take him to the playground and watch him try to walk, falling over at every other step. One picture had been ripped in half, from when her husband first left her and she angrily destroyed the photo. In the photo, she had been holding her son and her husband had been standing next to them. Now, it was just her and Janus, except Janus’ face had been split down the middle from the rip. 

Another turn of the page revealed photos of baby Virgil, being held by Janus, being played with by his father, being happy and young and adorable. 

“I want my babies back!” She screamed, throwing the photo album across the room. She heard something break, but she didn’t care what it was. Victoria grabbed the wine bottle and drank straight from it. 

She climbed out of bed, stumbling around. She looked at the clock, it read 11:45 p.m. What day was it? Monday? She didn’t know, her head felt fuzzy, the whole world felt fuzzy. 

“I need my babies back,” she muttered, struggling to put her shoes on. She went to Virgil’s room first, it was empty. So was Janus’ room. All of Janus’ stuff was gone as well. Where were they? Why weren’t they home with her? Then she remembered, they had left her. Just like her husband has. Her family had left her. She wanted them back, she’d find a way to get them back. She had to, she didn’t want to be alone. 

Fumbling with the keys as she tried to lock the front door, she kept muttering to herself about her family, how she needed them, how she can’t let them leave her. She climbed into her car, putting the keys in the ignition. But she never turned them, she had fallen asleep. She was so tired, the world was so fuzzy, so warm. 

“It’s just a small nap,” she told herself as she laid her head forward, letting her mind drift to nothingness. She’d find her children in the morning. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!  
> Imma be honest, Idk what the fuck this chapter is. It started off as I wanted a nice platonic dukeceit moment, which turned into it's own serious thing. And then I wanted a moment focused on Victoria, which i have no idea how i feel about that, since I was originally avoiding giving her the spotlight because she doesn't deserve it. But since this is a pretty negative view of her, with her being drunk and possessive, I think she'll be fine. And then the analogical moment because they deserve to talk about something that isn't Virgil's family. (yeah i know they still talk about Virgil's family a bit but shhhhh)  
> Logan's story about breaking into Target was fun to write. I doubt he'd be interested in ever doing it again, but he enjoyed it for the most part.   
> Also! Return of the dick dress! The outfit I am most proud of! Still have the Fander Friends to thank for that. They helped me design that dress.   
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
> Much love and gratitude,  
> Turtle


	28. Holding Hands While The Walls Come Tumbling Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter in which shit goes down (guys I'm tired, I can't summarize this chapter without sounding dumb, I'm sorry)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title note: from the song "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears
> 
> tw: Victoria, cursing, shouting, police mentions/ slight police scene (lemme know if I need to add any more)

Tuesday morning, Logan shook Virgil awake gently. Virgil sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. 

“School,” Logan said, headed to the bathroom to get dressed, leaving Virgil alone. Virgil grabbed his phone, noticing that he had missed a call from Remus. He wondered what the older boy had wanted, but decided to worry about that later. It was probably nothing. He grabbed his clothes and quickly changed out of Logan’s spare NASA pajamas, which basically belonged to Virgil at this point. 

Logan came back into the room as Virgil was slipping on his hoodie. 

“You need a new hoodie,” Logan commented. Virgil wrapped the one he was wearing tightly around his shoulders.

“What’s wrong with the one you gave me?” 

“Nothing’s wrong with it, but it’s boring and kinda old. I want to get you a new one, a nicer one. I’ll talk to my mom about getting one.” Virgil hugged Logan, silently thanking him. 

“Ready for breakfast?” Logan asked as the two separated. 

“I’m just going to go and put on some eyeliner before coming down,” Virgil said, heading to the bathroom. Logan nodded and walked down the stairs, greeting his parents good morning. Virgil followed a few seconds later, his eyeliner designed in his usual, plain dark style. Logan smiled as Virgil got himself breakfast, admiring his small emo boyfriend. 

“You boys ready for school?” Dot asked. Logan nodded as Virgil rushed to finish his food. 

“I’ll drive you two,” Larry said, getting out of his seat and leading the teenagers out of the front door and towards the car.

* * *

Virgil sat down next to his boyfriend at lunch, smiling over at Patton, who was on his phone. Virgil guessed that he was probably texting Janus. He couldn’t blame the older boy, Virgil would probably be doing the exact same thing if he was separated from Logan. 

Remus flung himself down on the bench next to Patton, followed a few seconds later by Roman, who was shouting at his twin. 

“Remus! You know you can’t run in the halls! You’ll get detention again and mom will kill you!” he was saying, but Remus wasn’t paying attention. 

Virgil was glad to see that Remus was dressed appropriately today. A Nirvana t-shirt with a leather jacket and skinny jeans, definitely one of his more tame outfits. 

"Hey Remus, can I ask you a question?" Virgil said suddenly. Remus looked up, slightly surprised.

"What's up little gremlin?" Remus grinned.

"Why'd you call last night?" Virgil asked. “I saw that I missed a call from you this morning, but I have no idea why you would call.” 

Remus shrugged his shoulders. “Just wanted to check up and make sure you were doing okay. Life has been crazy, ya know?” Virgil didn’t know what to think of that, or if he should even trust him. Remus could have been trying to pull a prank for all he knew. 

Logan seemed a little confused as well. Logan’s only experiences with Remus had been chaotic, he hadn’t met the serious Remus, so trying to visualize it was strange. 

But Remus had gone back to his normal, chaotic self, completely forgetting the conversation that had just taken place. As he tried to annoy Patton, Logan reached over and offered his hand to Virgil. Virgil took it gently and the two sat there, holding hands, until lunch was over.

* * *

Victoria woke up to someone knocking on her window. She looked up, her head spinning slightly and noticed that her neighbor was standing right outside her car, knocking on the window to get Victoria’s attention.

“Are you okay?” The neighbor asked, an older lady with a super friendly smile. Victoria looked around for a moment, taking in her situation.

“Yeah, I’m good. Just fell asleep I guess. Work’s been crazy!” Victoria faked a laugh, the neighbor laughed with her. 

“That’s good. You should go in and get some sleep!” The lady helped Victoria out of her car. “I can make you some lunch if you want.” 

“I’m fine, but thank you for the kind offer!” Victoria said, unlocking the front door of her house. 

“How are your sons? I haven’t seen them in a while! I miss their sweet faces. You have such kind and amazing children, did you know that?” 

Victoria faked a smile. “Yes, they’re amazing, I’m so blessed. They’ve been busy with school and friends, so they aren’t home a lot these days. I have to pick my younger son up from school later today.” 

“Well, tell him that I said hello and that if he wants to stop by, I have some cookies leftover that my grandchildren and I made, he’s welcome to as many as he wants.” 

“How sweet of you, I’ll be sure to tell him!” Victoria watched as the lady went back to her house. She sighed and laid down on the couch. Falling asleep, she promised herself that she’d go and get Virgil after school. They could talk this all over and pretend like nothing happened. She’d have her family again.

* * *

School was a blur for Logan. Classes went by, notes were written down, homework was assigned. As much as he liked knowing that he was succeeding in school, he also couldn’t wait for the day to be over so that he could do homework and then relax. 

Virgil met him at his locker, smiling as Logan walked up. 

“Hello!” Virgil said, hugging Logan. “How were the last few hours of school?” Logan noticed that Virgil was in a good mood, that was good. 

“They were okay. Science was kind of boring, we reviewed what we’ve learned this semester and I already knew it all.” Virgil nodded, slipping his hand into Logan’s, lacing their fingers together. 

“How was your day?” Logan asked. Virgil shrugged his shoulders. 

“Pretty uneventful. Boring school. The usual.”

“Sounds like a lot of fun then,” Logan joked. Virgil smiled, pulling his boyfriend towards the front doors. 

Remus came out of nowhere. One moment he wasn’t there, the next, he was hanging on Virgil.

“Hello little gremlin!” he said, his arm wrapped around Virgil’s shoulders. Virgil immediately tensed, waiting for something bad to happen. 

“What do you need Remus?” Logan asked. Remus acted shocked.

“Me? Need anything from the little emo? No, you’ve got it all wrong. He needs me.” Logan’s eyebrow shot up. 

“What do I need you for exactly?” Virgil asked. Remus’ eyes had a mischievous glint to them as his lips quirked up. 

“A makeover of course!” Virgil shook his head frantically.

“No, no, no. I’ve grown up around you, I know what a makeover means to you! You’ll try to burn all my clothes so that I’ll be forced to wear skirts and shit, and then you’ll want to dye my hair some ugly color. I’m not going to let this happen. Janus hated it when you forced him to wear dresses that entire week.” 

“Janny has no real sense of style. But there’s hope for you! Besides, you already dye your hair, so don’t even get me started.” 

“I dye my hair purple! Purple isn’t an ugly color! If you had it your way, I’d walk away with lime green hair or something.” 

“There’s nothing wrong with lime green,” Remus grumbled. 

The two continued to argue as they walked out the building. Logan held Virgil’s hand, partly because he liked holding Virgil’s hand and partly to hold Virgil back and keep him from murdering Remus. 

Logan was the first one to notice the car, and the woman climbing out of it. 

“Uh, Virgil, we have a problem,” he said. Virgil looked over. 

“What could possibly be a bigger problem than lime green hair?” As the words left his mouth, he noticed his mother, and his lips formed an “oh.” Remus looked over and saw Victoria, growling angrily. 

“What is she doing here?” he asked, moving so that he was standing in front of Logan and Virgil. Logan was shocked to suddenly see Remus so protective but he decided that was a subject to think about later. 

Virgil’s mother was walking up the stairs towards the school. She spotted Remus, and walked over to him, probably recognizing him as Janus’ friend. 

“Hello young man. Have you seen my son? His name is Virgil, he’s pretty short, has dyed hair, wears a lot of dark colors? I haven’t seen him come out of the building.” 

“Go fuck yourself,” Remus growled. Victoria glared at him, but then saw Virgil. 

“Oh honey there you are!” With the swiftness of a ninja, she reached around Remus and yanked at Virgil, pulling him towards her. Logan was still holding Virgil’s hand, so he was yanked as well. 

“Let go of me!” Virgil said, yanking back, pulling his wrist out of her grip. 

Victoria looked shocked, clearly expecting for Virgil to follow along and do as she wanted. “But little nightmare, I’ve come to pick you up from school. That’s what family does.” 

“I’m not going with you,” Virgil squeezed Logan’s hand, searching for the smallest big of comfort. 

Victoria’s face changed from sweet to bitter and cold. “Virgil Black, get in that car right now or so help me god.” 

“No.” 

Out of the corner of his eyes, Logan saw Patton and Roman walk out of the school, stopping when they saw what was happening. He saw Remus run over and explain the situation, saw all three of them pull out their phones and call someone. He hoped that at least one of them was calling the police, or anyone who could help.

* * *

Janus was walking out of his school when his phone started to ring. He looked at the caller and noticed that it was Patton, so he pressed the green button and held the phone up. 

“Well hello darling,” Janus said, smiling. 

“Janus, Virgil’s in danger,” Patton said. His voice was panicky, and it sent shivers down Janus’ spine. 

“What do you mean ‘Virgil’s in danger?’ Patton, what’s going on?” 

“It’s your mom, she came to the school. Remus said that she’s here to take Virgil home, but Virgil is refusing to go. She’s really angry, and none of us know what to do.” 

“Did you call someone to help?” 

“Roman is speaking to the police on the phone right now, and I think Remus is calling Larry and Remy. But Janus, I’m scared.” Janus was speed walking to his car, nearly running. 

“I won’t be there immediately, but if you guys need me, I’ll come.” 

“Please come Janus.” 

“Okay darling, I’m on my way. I need you to breathe for me though. Breathe in for seven seconds, hold it for three seconds, now breathe out for eight seconds. Continue doing that, I’m coming.” 

Patton began to calm down, taking in deep breaths. 

“Patton honey, I’ll have to hang up on you. I need to call my uncle and fill him in.” 

Patton nodded, then remembered that Janus couldn’t see him. “Okay, I’ll see you soon.” 

“Make sure Virgil is safe, please,” Janus said before the call ended. Patton looked over at Roman, who was slipping his phone back into his pocket. 

“The police are on their way. They said that they’ll be here in five minutes.” 

Remus grumbled. “I don’t trust the police.” 

“It doesn’t matter if you trust the police,” Roman said. “Right now we need them, whether we like it or not.” Patton agreed, even though he wasn’t exactly happy about it.

“Fine, but Remy is on his way and he could kick her ass without the police’s help,” Remus said. He looked over to where Logan and Virgil were. Virgil was continuing to tell his mother that he was not going with her, and she was practically screaming her head off. Students had gathered and from the sounds of it, teachers would be outside soon enough. Remus noticed that Virgil still gripped Logan’s hand, holding it like a lifeline. 

Remy and the police arrived at the same time. Remy stumbled out of the car and searched for Patton, hoping for answers. The police immediately went to the source of the noise, asking Victoria to step away from the crowd so that they could speak to her. 

She seemed to calm down around the police, Patton couldn’t tell if it was because she didn’t want to get in trouble or if she was hoping that they’d be on her side. She explained herself to the police, who then called Virgil over. Virgil brought Logan along, and Patton was surprised to see that the officers didn’t send Logan away. 

Patton couldn’t hear what was happening, and it seemed like neither could any of his friends. They all just stood there, waiting to see what would happen next. 

An officer nodded to Virgil, who was led away by Logan. They headed for the group, ignoring the other students. Victoria was led by the police into the cop car. She wasn’t putting up a fight but she was clearly unhappy. 

“What happened? Are you okay?” Remy asked. 

“I told them the truth, about my mom. They’re arresting her for disturbing the peace, since the school is a public space, and they suggested that I sue her for child negligence.” 

“Are you going to?” Remus asked. 

“I don’t know, I’ll have to call Janus and ask him about that.” 

“Um about that, Janus is driving down here right now,” Patton admitted. “I may have called him and told him what was going on and he said that he was on his way.” 

Remy walked away from the group for a few minutes, making multiple phone calls. When he rejoined the teens, he cleared his throat to get their attention. 

“I’ve talked to all your parents, except for you of course Virgil. They all agree that you kids should spend the night together, especially with Janus coming. Mrs Prince has offered that you all stay at her house, she’d be more than happy to house you all. How does that sound?” 

“Oh that sounds amazing!” Roman said. “It’s been so long since Ma saw Virgil, she must be a bit worried.” 

Logan agreed and Patton said that he’d be down. They all waited for Virgil to speak up. 

“I’d like that, a lot.” He said quietly. 

“I can drive some of you to the Prince house, Roman, will you take the rest of them?” Remy asked. Roman agreed and the group loaded up into the cars. Patton made sure to tell Janus where they’d be. 

Logan and Virgil climbed into the backseat of Remy’s car, still holding hands. 

“Well that certainly was eventful,” Logan commented. “Are you okay?” 

Virgil looked a little rattled. “I can’t believe I did that.” 

Logan smiled. “I’m glad you did that. You stood up for yourself, against her of all people. That’s a big deal. I’m proud of you, and once Janus gets here, he’ll say the exact same thing.” 

Virgil let Logan’s words sink in before smiling. “You’re right, and I should be proud of myself as well!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everybody!   
> This chapter was originally gonna be a lot longer, but I decided to cut it in half. :)   
> There are police in this chapter, and I do want to make a note, that I don't really support the police, but let's just, for this chapter's sake, pretend that police aren't the complete shit. Honestly, the whole justice and law'enforcement system is very fucked up.... but yeah.... (i spent a lot of time trying to find a way to cut out the police in this chapter ngl, but i've hit a wall. Victoria is a very powerful force that sometimes needs drastic measures to be stopped.)   
> Lemme know if I need to add another tw! I'll happily do that. Also feel free to dm me if you noticed a spelling or grammer error!   
> Much love and gratitude,   
> Turtle


	29. Auntie DW

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang spends the night at the Prince House.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: food mentions (lemme know if I need to tw anything else)

“Hello Janus, is Remus here?” Janus held open the door, glaring at the woman in front of him. 

“I don’t know where Remus is Mrs Prince,” Janus lied, continuing to glare. He hated adults, especially when they talked down to him like he was a child. It didn’t matter that he was only 9, he was the adult of the house. 

“Janus darling, please let me in. I know that he’s here.” Janus glanced over his shoulder to where Remus was sitting on the couch, in plain sight. Janus knew that Mrs Prince could definitely see her son, so he sighed and let her inside. 

Mrs Prince went and sat down at her pouting son, talking to him softly. Janus watched from the door, still holding it open. He expected Virgil to walk into the room at any moment, but Virgil was busy taking a nap. Virgil still took naps at 8, they kept him calm.

Janus watched as Remus hopped off the couch, holding his mother’s hand. Mrs Prince walked her son towards the door and stopped in front of Janus.

“Is your mommy home?” She asked. Janus shook his head. Mrs Prince’s face twisted in concern. 

“Do you know when she’ll be home?” 

“She said that she’d be home next week. I’m in charge while she’s gone!” Janus grinned, proud to be in charge. But Mrs Prince didn’t look proud of him, she looked concerned. 

“Janus, where’s your brother?” 

“In his room.” 

“Well, go get him. You two will be spending the week at my house.” 

Janus bristled at the thought. “Ma’am, my mom put me in charge. You can’t tell me what to do.” 

“You’re nine, you know that’s a lie. Think of it as a big sleepover with Remus if you want, but you’re coming home to stay with me and the twins. Go on, go get your brother and the things you’ll need.” 

Janus knew that it was a losing battle, but at least he liked sleepovers. He quickly stuffed a bag full of clothes for him and Virgil, throwing in their toothbrushes. Then he went to Virgil’s room, quietly entering and walking over to where Virgil was curled up on the bed. Tucked in Virgil’s arms were two stuffed animals, a spider that Virgil had named Joan and a bat that was named Talyn. Janus didn’t know where Virgil had come up with the names but Virgil loved his two stuffed animals. 

“Virgil, time to wake up,” Janus said, shaking his younger brother gently until Virgil sat up groggily. 

“We’re having a sleepover with Remus. I have your stuff, come on, let’s go!” Virgil scooped up his two stuffed animals and took Janus’ hand as they exited the house and followed Mrs Prince down the street.

“Thank you Mrs Prince,” Virgil said in his sweet child voice. “I like sleepovers.” 

Mrs Prince smiled down at the small boy. “You don’t have to call me that. Just call me DW.” Virgil scrunched up his nose, clearly not enjoying the idea of calling Remus’ mom by her first name. 

DW laughed. “Okay then.” She reached down and scooped Virgil up, holding him in her arms. “How about you call me Auntie DW? It’s like if we were family.” 

“But we aren’t family,” Virgil pointed out. 

“That doesn’t matter. Because we are a special sort of family. You and your brother are special, and I’d love it if you called me Auntie.” Virgil smiled. 

“Okay Auntie!”

* * *

Logan barely had time to open the front door when a lady practically threw herself at Virgil, hugging him tightly. Logan was surprised to see that Virgil didn’t pull away or turn stiff, but that he hugged the lady back. 

“Oh my goodness, I was so worried for you! You should have come here, you know that this is your home too,” the woman said. Logan realized that this must be Mrs Prince, Roman and Remus’ mother. He had never gotten the chance to meet her, she was usually working when Logan visited. 

Virgil laughed. “I’m fine Auntie. Life’s just been a little crazy.” The two separated and Mrs Prince led the teens inside her house. 

“Make yourselves at home, I’ll get started on dinner. Virgil, will you help me darling?” She asked, walking into the kitchen as Remy closed the front door. 

“Of course Auntie, just give me a minute to put down my backpack.” Virgil smiled at Logan and gave his hand a squeeze before following Mrs Prince into the kitchen. Logan sat down on the living room couch and turned to Roman.

“Did I miss something? Are you guys secretly cousins with the Blacks and I’ve just never known?” 

Remus laughed. “That’s silly! Of course we’re not related! Ma just wishes we were. She’s basically adopted Virgil and Janus.” 

Roman nodded. “Our dad died around the same time that their dad left. At first our mothers were close but when things at the Black household started to go south, our mom stepped in and started taking care of Janus and Virgil. They just call her Auntie because of that, it’s their thing I guess.” Logan nodded, that made sense, sort of. 

After about forty-five minutes, Virgil called everyone into the dining room for dinner. By then, Remy had left, so it was just Mrs Prince and the group of teens. They sat and chatted, even after the meal, which was enchiladas, enjoying each other’s company. 

Suddenly, the front door slammed open and Janus came running into the room. He relaxed when he saw Virgil sitting at the table, letting out a small sigh of relief. Mrs Prince leaped from the table and went to hug Janus the same way that she had hugged Virgil. Janus kissed her cheek, smiling down at the older lady. 

“Hey Auntie DW, it’s been a while.” 

“It has been too long Janus Black. Now you sit down and eat some food right this instant,” she commanded, taking the role of the parental figure of the group. Janus came and sat in between Patton and Virgil. He took a moment to kiss Patton, who practically beamed from the affection, before turning to his brother and checking to make sure that he was physically unharmed. 

“I’m fine Jan,” Virgil said before Janus has a chance to start speaking and doting on him. “I took care of myself. And Logan was there, he helped me.” 

“I didn’t do much,” Logan admitted. “Just held his hand really.” Janus shook his head and thanked Logan, saying that he was very grateful that Logan had been there. Logan was slightly surprised but he decided to go with it. 

The group sat around and talked for a bit while Janus ate what DW had put in front of him. After they had finished, DW shooed them out of the dining room while she cleaned up and made them brownies. Remus led the group to the living room, the largest room in the house. It was the only room big enough to house four teens overnight. Janus flopped on the couch and Patton went over to cuddle there with him. Remus sat on the coffee table, earning a head shake and a reprimand from Roman, which he ignored. Roman himself had sat on the floor next to his twin and Logan and Virgil sat next to each other on the ground across from Roman. 

Logan’s eyes wandered the room. He had to admit that for all the time he had spent here with Roman, he had never really looked around the place. His eyes drifted over to a little table pressed up against the wall. It had a lot of photos on it and even with his glasses on, it was difficult to see them from far away. 

Roman followed Logan’s eyes and looked over his shoulder at the table. “Our dad,” he explained. “Mom set that up almost immediately after he died. She said that it would help us never to forget him. Even without it, we couldn’t forget him, especially with all the family photos of when we were younger and he was still here hanging around this house.” 

Remus hummed softly. “I like the table.”

“Yeah, you’ll sit in front of it some days, just staring,” Roman muttered.

“And talking. I like to think I talk to Dad,” Remus said, unafraid to admit it. Janus nodded, having seen this happen many times. Talking to his dad made him feel much better when he was feeling down, even though he knew he wasn’t  _ actually _ talking to his dad.

“I’m sorry,” Logan said.

“No, don’t apologize. I’m surprised it took you this long to notice the table,” Roman said, smiling at his best friend. “You’re here all the time. You know, for someone so smart, you can be quite careless and absentminded,” Roman continued to tease his friend until his mother came into the room, holding up a plate of still warm brownies. The teens practically lunged at them once they had been set down, enjoying the warm, chocolatey goodness. 

“Auntie DW’s brownies are always the best,” Janus said as he reached for a third brownie. Remus snatched the brownie out of Janus’ hand, shoving it in his mouth, enjoying the look of shock that Janus gave him. 

“Asshole,” Janus said as he reached for another brownie. Remus blocked him. The others were trying not to laugh as Remus and Janus seemed to start fighting over the brownies. It wasn’t one of their usual fights, this one was much more playful, with light slapping. It all immediately stopped when DW walked into the room, her arms crossed and her motherly glare aimed at the two boys. Their eyes immediately fell to the floor as they mumbled apologies to each other. The rest of the group tried not to laugh at them. 

“I want you all to get lots of sleep,” DW said, picking up the plate of brownies and eating one herself. “Tomorrow is a school day and left to your own devices, you’ll stay up all night.” 

“But mom-” Remus began to complain but stopped immediately when his mother’s gaze was solely on him.

“Don’t you dare talk back to me Remus Prince,” she said. “I’ll fetch you kids blankets.” She carried the plate out of the room, coming back a few minutes later with an armful of soft blankets, handing one to each teen. 

“Now sleep,” she said, looking at the clock. The teens were surprised to see how much time their goofing off had cost them, it was almost 11 p.m. They all claimed spots, Remus and Roman sleeping on the floor on opposite sides of the room. Janus and Patton claimed the couch, Patton laying on top of Janus. Logan and Virgil decided to sleep on the floor as well, using one of their blankets to replicate a mattress and the other to go on top of both of them. Remus had used his blanket to wrap himself up, resembling a burrito. The room fell into silence as they tried to fall asleep, and one by one, they did.

* * *

Janus woke up really early in the morning. He had to start driving back if he wanted to make it to school on time. Patton was still laying on top of him, looking at peace, his face buried in Janus’ shoulder, his hair looking incredibly soft. Janus just wanted to sit there and run his hands through Patton’s hair. He couldn’t bear to leave Patton, not when his boyfriend looked so happy. 

Patton stirred, feeling Janus’ movement. He looked up groggily, his eyes meeting Janus’. 

“You aren’t leaving, are you?” He whispered, pouting slightly. It broke Janus’ heart as he nodded. 

“I have to go, it’s a three hour drive darling.” 

“Take me with you.” 

“I can’t, you have school.”

“Fuck school.” 

“Did you just cuss at me about school?” Janus’ eyebrow raised. 

“Yes, now take me with you.” 

“Patton please. I would if I could.” Patton pouted, burying his face back into Janus’ shoulder, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend and pulling him close.

“At least let me walk you to your car,” he mumbled. 

“Of course you can do that, nothing would make me happier.” Janus looked around, all the others were still fast asleep, good. Janus didn’t want to wake them up. It was way too early to be awake, he already felt bad for having to wake Patton up. 

The two silently climbed off the couch and headed to the front door, grabbing Janus’ keys from the dining room table. They slipped out the door, double checking to make sure they hadn’t woken anyone up. The whole time, Patton gripped Janus’ hand tightly, cutting off circulation. 

The two stood in front of Janus’ car for a moment, Patton shivered slightly from the cool morning air. 

“Here, I have a jacket in the car. You’ll be warm.” 

“I’m going back inside in a minute.” 

“Yeah well I’d feel slightly less guilty for leaving you if you at least had my jacket.” Patton smiled as Janus pulled the jacket out of the trunk. It was a hoodie, thick, a pale yellow color, Janus’ favorite color. Patton slipped it on, letting the long sleeves fall over his hands.

“You look adorable,” Janus said, admiring his boyfriend. Patton slipped his arms around Janus, holding him close for another minute. 

“I really have to go,” Janus said, holding onto Patton, not pulling away.

“I know,” Patton pulled himself closer to Janus, as close as possible. 

“I love you Patton, I’m not going to be gone forever. The weekend will be here before you know it.” 

“Will you take me somewhere special?” 

“Anywhere you want to go. Name a place and we’ll be there.” Janus kissed the top of Patton’s head. 

Patton looked up, staring at Janus. “I want a goodbye kiss.” 

“It isn’t a goodbye if I promise to come back darling. But you can have all the kisses you want.” He bent down to kiss Patton’s lips gently, but Patton immediately changed the pace, kissing passionately, pulling Janus’s face down closer to him. When they pulled away, Patton was crying gently. Janus reached up and wiped the tears away.

“I’m sorry, you deserve better than this.” 

“Don’t you dare apologize or I’m going to start crying more.” 

“But it’s true, you deserve someone who won’t make you cry, who won’t leave you, who isn’t three hours away when you need him.” 

“Don’t be silly, I deserve you. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” 

Janus smiled, kissing Patton again. “You’re so sweet.” 

“You should go, you have school.” 

“You need to let go of me for me to go.” Patton slowly let his arms fall to his side, playing with the end of the hoodie. He watched as Janus climbed in his car and waved goodbye as Janus pulled out of the driveway. Once Janus’ car was out of sight, he headed back inside. 

Patton was going to go back to laying on the couch, but as he closed the front door, he was greeted by DW.

“I’m sorry Mrs Prince, I didn’t mean to wake you,” he said. 

“Don’t apologize darling, I knew that Janus would have to leave early. I’m sorry hun, are you okay?” Patton smiled. While he didn’t know Roman’s mother very well, she had always been one of his favorite people, so sweet and caring, while still being strong and responsible in the most amazing ways. 

“I’ll be fine. I just miss him, you know?” 

“Oh darling, I know. How about you come and have some tea with me? I doubt you’ll be getting much sleep now that you’re awake. You can help me make breakfast if you want, or just sit down and relax. Either way you shouldn’t be crying, mornings are a time to be happy, a time to celebrate a new day.” 

“I’d like some tea very much.” Patton followed DW into the kitchen, where the two sat and talked until the sun began to wake the others up, signalling a new day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!  
> Sorry it's been taking so long to finish this chapter, life has been absolutely crazy and finding the motivation it takes to write certain things has been hard. But I'm glad I finally finished it!!  
> The idea of calling someone you aren't related to "Auntie" is such a blessed concept to me, it really captures the found family thing. I personally have two Aunties that aren't related to me and I love both of them a lot.  
> DW is loosely based off the Dragon Witch, and Mr Prince is based off of King Creativity. I was originally planning to talk about him in depth much more, but it just didn't work out that way. Maybe in a later chapter, maybe not.   
> Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter!   
> Much love and gratitude,  
> Turtle


	30. Three Hours Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Janus gets a job and the brothers have a meeting with a social worker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quil is in this chapter! If you don't know who Quil is, she's one of Thomas' irl friends, who is an internet comedian and also works for Thomas. They're really sweet and really awesome. Obviously, my Quil isn't the exact same as the real Quil, but my Quil is modeled after him. Irl Quil uses all pronouns (she/they/he) and that was something I wanted to keep so I apologize for any confusion that Quil's multiple pronouns may cause. 
> 
> tw: mentions of abuse, neglect and Victoria. None of it is gone into details. Lemme know if I need to tag anything else.

If you asked Janus, he would tell you that the weekends were the highlight of his week. He got to see his brother, his best friend, and his boyfriend. He didn’t have school. He could listen to music in the car while driving the three hour trip. Weekends were basically perfect.

That being said, Janus wasn’t looking forward to the upcoming weekend. According to Virgil, the two of them would be talking to a social worker about their mother. Janus didn’t trust any government official, even social workers. He was not excited for what lay ahead. 

At least his new school wasn’t completely terrible. His teachers were pretty nice for the most part, except for his math teacher but even he wasn’t terrible. The other students mostly kept to themselves. Luckily, Janus was tall and scary looking enough that anybody who thought about bullying him for whatever reason had decided against it. 

Janus hung out with a few kids in his history class, but they weren’t his old friends. None of them were as chaotic as Remus, as sweet as Patton, as dramatic as Roman, as thoughtful as Virgil, or as intellectual as Logan. Compared to Janus’ old friends, his real friends, they didn’t even begin to compare. 

Janus missed his friends…

Don’t get him wrong, the kids he hung out with at school were great. They even had a band, though Janus thought the Others played much better music. They had offered to let Janus help out as a sort of tech crew, but he had declined. He much rather play his guitar when he was at home in his room, all alone.

Uncle Thomas worked from home, being a youtuber and all. He would spend hours on his laptop, working with his store managers, his co writers on scripts, or discuss different makeup and special effects styles with his team. Janus was slightly surprised to see how many people worked for his uncle, they were basically producing a tv show on a budget for people to watch for free. Janus was impressed to say the least. 

What surprised Janus the most about his uncle’s work was when Thomas reached out to ask if he wanted to join the makeup team. The head of Thomas’ “makeup department”, so to speak, said that she would love to meet Janus and see him in action, and if he was as good as Thomas claimed, she’d love to hire him. Janus agreed immediately.

Friday evening, after school, Janus was in his room setting up all his products when he heard the knock at the door. Janus practically ran down the stairs as Thomas opened the door. The person on the other side of the door hugged Thomas. The two of them walked inside and they walked over to Janus, offering their hand. 

“Hi, I’m Quil. You must be Janus. I’ve heard much about you.” 

Quil was tall, with lots of tight red curls that seemed to be all natural. They’re makeup was complicated, a look that Janus felt the urge to replicate on himself. They clothing style was something that could be considered goth, but less dramatic. Janus immediately took a liking to them. 

Janus shook his hand, hoping that his nervousness didn’t show. “Nice to meet you.” 

Quil smiled. “Want to head upstairs?” She asked. “I assume you have all of your stuff set up and I want you to be comfortable where you work.” 

Janus nodded. “Yeah, upstairs. Everything is set up in my room.” He led the way, Quil and Thomas trailing behind him. Janus held the door open as the three of them walked into his room, where, sure enough, all of his makeup was laid out. 

Quil had Thomas sit in the chair while she sat on the bed. “So what we do for Thomas’ videos can range from super simple to extremely complicated depending on character, so I wanted to see your range, basically. I’ll show you my designs for a few of his characters and I want you to show me what you’d do to make it come to life on your uncle.” They pulled out their phone and showed Janus the first picture. It was so simple, Janus was sure he could have done it in his sleep. Just a little bit of eyeliner and some dark eyeshadow under the eyes. In practically no time, Janus had finished and was satisfied with his work. 

“Wow, you work fast!” Quil laughed. He took a moment to inspect Janus’ work and seemed just as satisfied as Janus felt. “Fast work is good for on-set makeup touch-ups. Now, I’m going to show you something harder.” Quil pulled out their phone again and showed Janus another image. 

This makeup look was completely different than the one that Janus had just done. There was a contact in one eye, making the eye a yellow color. Shimmering scales that were a yellowish-green color covered half of the face, on the same side of the contact. The area right around the eye had pink eyeshadow, with shading to give it a slightly sunken in effect. Janus was in awe, it was such a cool look.

“Now, I don’t know if you have any contacts, but don’t worry about that part. I don’t expect you to do that today. Right now, just focus on the eye socket and the scales,” Quil instructed. Janus nodded and set to work, starting by wiping Thomas’ face clean and starting all over.

This look took practically five times the amount of time the first look took. But it was so worth the wait. When Janus pulled away, finally done, he felt like Michalangeo. His wrist was sore just a little bit, but the pain was nothing when looking at what he considered a masterpiece. 

Quil seemed pleased as well. She studied Thomas’ face, took a few pictures, and smiled. “I think it’s wonderful.” Janus held up a mirror so that Thomas could see and he agreed. 

After cleaning Thomas’ face, the three of them left the room and headed downstairs.

“I think you’d be perfect for the team,” Quil said. “You’re hired.” 

Janus felt like his eyes were the size of moons. “Really?” 

Thomas nodded. “Yup, and you’ll get paid too.” 

Quil smiled, she seemed to do that a lot. “And I understand you wanted to become a licensed cosmetologist? Working will definitely do you a lot of good, and I can give you a list of good beauty schools, and be a recommendation on your resume if you want.” 

Janus felt like he was on top of the world, that was some of the best news he had ever heard.

“Thank you, thank you so much!” Janus said. He couldn’t stop smiling, he knew that he was going to love his new job.

* * *

Patton kept wringing his hands, pacing. To say he was nervous was a bit of an understatement. It was the weekend, Janus would be arriving any minute, but not for a date. No, Janus had that meeting with the social worker, Patton knew how stressed out Janus was about this meeting. And Patton couldn’t go into the meeting with him.

“What time did Janus say he’d arrive?” Patton asked Roman, who was sitting on the sidewalk. “He should be here by now!” 

Roman stood up and grabbed Patton’s hands, holding him still. “Pat, calm down. He’ll be here any second, I promise. He’d tell us if something was wrong.” 

“You’re right, I know that. I’m just so worried,” Patton said, sinking down so that he was sitting. Roman joined him. 

“I know, I’m sorry.” Roman put his arm around Patton, to keep him still. 

The two of them saw Logan and Virgil hop out of Dot’s car, running over to join them on the sidewalk.

“Is Janus not here yet?” Virgil asked. He looked as nervous as Patton felt, if not more. Roman shook his head. 

“Where’s Remus?” Logan asked. 

“In the tree,” Roman said, indicating to the tree just behind them. Logan and Virgil looked up and sure enough, there was Remus waving down at them.

“Do I even want to know what he’s doing up there?” Logan asked.

“Says he’s looking out for Janus,” Roman explained. Logan seemed satisfied with the answer and sat down next to Patton. Virgil joined them. 

“He’s here!” Remus yelled, jumping down from the tree and running across the parking lot. Today, Remus was wearing shorts and a dress-length t-shirt with the Billie Eilish logo on the front. 

The rest of the group followed him, meeting Janus outside his parked car. Remus had flung himself at Janus, so the two of them were laying on the ground, the front driver’s door still wide open. 

“Goddamn it Remus you could have hurt me!” Janus was shouting at his friend. Remus just giggled, clinging to Janus. It took a few more moments of effort to get Remus off of him before Janus was able to stand up and greet the rest of the group. 

Patton was the second person to fling himself at Janus, though it was much less violent. He peppered Janus’ face with soft kisses, letting all of his anxiety disappear. It took Roman clearing his throat to separate the two. 

Janus turned to Virgil. “You ready for this?” he asked. He watched as Virgil’s hand instinctively slipped into Logan's, their fingers intertwining. 

“No,” Virgil admitted. “But we have to do it and maybe something good will come from it.” Janus couldn’t have agreed more. He turned to the building, the group had agreed to meet outside of the social worker’s office. 

“I guess we head inside. The rest of you have to stay out here. We’ll be out soon.” Virgil slipped his hand out of Logan’s, pulling the hoodie he was wearing tight around his shoulders. Janus let his arm fall away from Patton, heading straight towards the front door. Like Virgil, he was not ready for what lay ahead.

* * *

“Are you two Janus and Virgil Black?” the social worker asked. She was an older lady, probably in her mid-50s. Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, the silver shining through her brown hair. She wore glasses, which only made her look even more stern. 

“Yes ma’am, we are,” Janus said. She smiled at them, the smile seemed fake and forced. Janus smiled back, his seemed much more realistic, even though it was just as fake. 

“So, we’re here to discuss your mother and your living situations. I understand neither of you are living with her?” 

Janus shook his head. “No ma’am, we’re not. I’m living with my uncle and Virgil is living with some friends.” 

The woman typed something into her computer, nodding. Virgil looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack, so Janus reached over and took his hand. He wasn’t Logan, but hopefully he could help. 

“Technically, you two are supposed to be living with her. But from what I’ve gathered, I’d say you made the right choice in leaving.” She took a few more minutes to read what was on her screen before turning to fully face the brothers.

“I want you to tell me your story. I have plenty of information on my computer, but I want to hear it from you. Both of you.” She looked pointedly at Virgil. 

So they told her, told her everything. About how their parents split and what had followed, how Janus had basically raised them both and how they had spent weeks at the Prince house. How Victoria had suddenly returned and had made their life a living nightmare. How she had thrown out Virgil’s medications and how she had tried to drag Virgil back home after school. They told her everything. 

The social worker listened in silence, sometimes pausing them so that she could type something out on her computer. Once they had finished, she read over her notes and then sighed. 

“I believe that the situation is clearly abusive, and we will deal with that accordingly. Your mother will be dealing with charges of child neglect and emotional abuse, plus a few others. But the real question is, what to do with you two? For obvious reasons, you can’t continue to live with your mother, she is far from a suitable guardian. Would you happen to have any close family members?” 

“I’m living with my uncle right now,” Janus said. 

“Ah yes, I remember that you mentioned that. Well, if all goes our way, I believe your uncle will be your legal guardian and that the two of you will finally be safe.” She smiled at them, and this time, it seemed genuine. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm very excited to share it with you all and I can't wait to show you what happens next!  
> Let me know what you think in the comments! I love hearing from you guys and I'm always willing to take constructive criticism.   
> Also! I have a discord server dedicated to my writing and Sanders Sides! I'd love it if you guys joined! Here's the link: https://discord.gg/CKkHKpT8  
> As always, thank you for reading!  
> Much love and gratitude,   
> Turtle


	31. Look Up at the Sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some Logan, Patton, and Roman time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *waves* hi I'm not dead. And I wrote this disaster of a chapter to prove it. Apologies for how I repeat myself, I had the same idea twice and forgot that I already wrote it and was too lazy to change it. :/  
> No tws i think but lemme know if I missed anything.

Patton paced out on the sidewalk. He wanted to force his way into those doors and sit with Janus and know what was going on. But he couldn’t so he just continued pacing. Logan watched him, reminding him every few seconds to breath. Roman was trying to stop Remus from jumping out of a tree, so he couldn’t comfort Patton. 

Finally, Logan stood up and grabbed Patton’s hand. Patton startled at the physical contact but allowed Logan to pull him along. Logan led the way, pulling Patton away from the building and across the street. They were headed to the park.

“What are you doing?” Patton asked. “We should wait for Janus and Virgil to come outside.” 

“You’re stressing yourself out. I’m just trying to help.” Logan pulled him up a small hill. When they reached the top, Logan pulled Patton to the ground, forcing them to lay on their backs. 

“What are we doing?” Patton asked. 

“Cloud watching. It’s relaxing and maybe you’ll enjoy it.” 

Patton turned on his side so that he was facing Logan. 

“You expect this to make me feel better?”

“It’s worth a shot. You never know.” Logan hummed as he studied the bright blue sky and hummed.

“That cloud looks like a mushroom, don’t you think?” Logan asked. Patton laid back on his back and looked at the cloud Logan was pointing at.

“I think it looks like an umbrella but I guess I can see the mushroom.” 

Logan laughed, which caused Patton to smile a bit. 

“Now you try and find a cloud,” Logan instructed. Patton scanned the sky for any cloud that reminded him of anything. Finally he found one.

“That one looks like a sword.” Logan agreed. They spent the next few minutes talking about clouds and different shapes.

“We don’t hang out as much as we used too,” Patton said suddenly. Logan stopped staring at the clouds for a moment to look at Patton.

“Life has been very crazy recently. But you’re right, I miss hanging out with you. I miss you and Roman both.” 

“I miss you guys too.” 

“Maybe we should do something soon.” 

“What about Virgil and Remus and Janus?” Patton asked.

“Those three can get into plenty of trouble without our help.” 

“What if we snuck into Target again?” Patton suggested. “That was fun.” 

“I am never doing that again! I hated every moment of that!” Logan looked surprised to even hear Patton suggest that. Patton laughed.

“Roman probably wouldn’t do it anyways. It was fun but I think he prefers to let Remus do most of the trouble-making.” 

Logan rolled his eyes before sighing dramatically. 

“Remus and Roman are opposite ends of everything.” 

“I don’t think so, they’re two sides of the same coin. They both are dramatic and funny, but in their own unique ways. Even if I don’t personally like Remus’ sense of humor, Janus loves it.” 

Logan could agree with that. 

They sat in a moment of comfortable silence, continuing to stare at the clouds.

“Do you think the meeting is almost done?” Patton asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Should we go back?” 

“Only if you want to. Otherwise we can continue to watch the clouds.” 

“You’re right you know. This is relaxing. I feel a lot better. Thank you.” 

“Hey, you’re my friend. Of course I don’t want you stressed out.” 

Patton smiled and pointed at a cloud. “That one looks like a tree!” 

“You’re right! It does! That’s cool.” 

The two heard shouting from the parking lot across the street. Patton looked at Logan, but Logan just shrugged. Remus was probably up to no good. They watched as Roman jogged across the street and threw himself down on the ground next to Patton.

“What are we doing?” He asked, practically breathless.

“Watching the clouds,” Patton answered. “Where’s Remus?”

“I left him stuck in a tree.”

“That’s not very nice!” Patton said, trying not to smile.

“Oh you know it’s funny! Besides, he can get down.” 

Roman stared up at the clouds, letting the comfortable silence fall over the friends once again. 

“Remember when things weren’t complicated?” He asked, still looking at the clouds.

Logan sat up on his elbows. “What do you mean?”

“Everything’s so complicated now. Virgil and Janus are literally talking to a government official about their mom, Remus has been more chaotic than ever. I feel like the three of us are drifting apart-” Roman stopped mid sentence, letting his words float into the wind. “Everything feels so different. We used to do everything together and now I barely see you Logan, and Patton, you’re an anxious mess.”

Patton laughed weakly. “Yeah, that’s me. I should see a therapist, I know a really good one.” They all laughed, but it quickly died.

“You’re right,” Logan admitted. “I guess I was pretending that we weren’t drifting apart.” 

“Because you didn’t want it to be true,” Patton finished. “Yeah, me too.” 

“We were best friends! The three of us were inseparable! I miss that.” Roman was pulling up blades of grass as he lay there, picking the green blades apart. 

“I miss that too,” Patton said, sadness laced through his voice.

“Well then we’ll fix it!” Logan said. The determination in his voice surprised the other two, but it also caught their attention. “We’ll do something, just the three of us! Like we used to do! Patton and I were literally just talking about that before you got here!” 

“I suggested that we do another Target sleepover but Logan shut that down pretty quickly,” Patton pouted.

“Sorry Pat, but I’m with Logan on that one. One Target sleepover is enough for me. But I think you’re on the right track. We should do something big.” 

“Like what?”

“Well, there’s the spring fair, we could do that,” Roman suggested. 

“Ooooh that sounds like so much fun! Let’s do it!” Patton looked giddy with excitement.

“When?” Logan asked.

“How about next week? On Saturday, since we don’t have school.”

“Sounds like a plan!” Patton said, pulling out his phone to write it down so that he won’t forget. 

As they all fleshed out the details of the entire thing, Remus ran up to them, followed by Virgil and Janus.

Patton jumped up and ran to Janus. “How was it?” 

“It was pretty good, the social worker was actually really nice and listened to our story. We actually have a court date, so that our uncle can have legal guardianship and we can get a restraining order for Mom.” 

“When’s the court date?” Logan asked. 

Virgil spoke up. “They got us the closest date, it’s next Saturday.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!  
> Thank you for letting me take some time off for mental health reasons. This story is very important to me, but there are some parts about it that are currently hitting pretty close to home for me, so updates may be very spread out.   
> I can prove that I'm okay, because could a depressed person write all this? *points to this chapter* NO! Well, yes, but we're ignoring that. And now I'm oversharing. Feel free to ignore this lol.  
> Oh! Something you don't want to ignore is that I'm planning to update the playlists! I don't know exactly when that will happen. Maybe right after I post this chapter, maybe right before I post the next one. But it's going to happen! I promise.  
> Also, can you believe I've written 31 chapters and this story isn't over yet? My google doc is literally at 200 pages. We're close to the end though, I can promise you that.  
> I hope you all have a lovely holiday season, we deserve a good break from life.  
> Much love and gratitude,   
> Turtle


	32. The Spring Festival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan, Patton, and Roman have some friend group bonding time at the festival.  
> Janus and Virgil go with their Uncle Thomas to their mother's hearing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: blink and you'll miss mention of drugs.   
> lemme know if you see anything else :D

“I’m so sorry that I can’t be at the hearing,” Logan apologized for the millionth time that morning as he put on his coat.  
“Chill, it’s not that big of a deal. Besides, you’d just be sitting outside all day, they aren’t letting a lot of people inside. You should be enjoying yourself,” Virgil smiled. It was rare that Virgil was the voice of reason out of the two of them, but Logan sort of enjoyed being comforted by his boyfriend. Besides, he was really worried about Virgil and Janus, especially since Victoria was going to be there.  
Not that Victoria could do much. Her world was falling apart and Logan knew that she deserved it. Every time he heard something new about Virgil’s childhood, he just felt so angry, and almost all of that anger was directed at Virgil’s mom.   
“You don’t have to worry about me every second of the day. I’ll be with Janus. And I’ll call if something comes up.”   
“Promise?”   
Virgil rolled his eyes playfully. “I promise. Now go have fun before I get your dad to kick you out.”   
“I love you!”  
“You’re just going to the fair! Stop acting like you’re going on a long journey!”   
Logan laughed and ran out the door, hopping into Roman’s car, which had been waiting outside the entire time.  
“What took you so long?” Patton asked from the backseat.  
“Just making sure that Virgil will be okay.”   
Roman sighed. “You’ve become a lovesick idiot, you know that? You too Patton. You’re both love sick idiots. I can’t believe I’m the only one here who hasn’t let my brain turn to mush over some guy, I’m supposed to be the romantic one!”   
Patton laughed. “We get it Prince Charming. Now drive this car, I want to get to the fair as soon as possible!”

* * *

  
Thomas picked his two nephews up. Janus had driven down the night before to spend some time with Patton, so Thomas had driven the three hours alone.   
Virgil hopped into the car, bundled up in Logan’s hoodie. They stopped to pick up Janus before deciding to get breakfast together. They didn’t know how this court hearing would go and knowing his sister, Thomas was sure that it would be long and stressful.  
“You guys ready for today?”   
Janus shrugged. “As ready as we can be.”   
“I’m ready to get this over with,” Virgil said, messing with his phone case.   
Thomas reached for his nephews’ hands and was grateful that they didn’t pull away. He gently pulled them towards the door of the courthouse and in the three went.

* * *

  
To say that Patton was excited about the fair was a bit of an understatement. He was bouncing around like someone had injected a mix of sugar and cocaine straight into his veins. Roman had to grab hold of his shoulders to keep him from bouncing in the ticket line. He was worried that Patton was accidentally going to bounce into someone.  
“I haven’t been to a fair in what feels like forever,” Logan said, clearly resisting the urge to check his phone. Roman guessed he was hoping that Virgil would text with news about the trial. But from his estimation, they wouldn’t have even started yet, much less have the entire case finished.  
“You know what? I think the first thing we should do is play a few of those games,” Roman suggested, promptly earning a glare from Logan.   
“You know those games are scams. I’ve told you that a million times.”   
Roman smiled cheekily, “Which is why winning would be so much sweeter. Nothing is more satisfying than scamming the scammer.”  
“That’s not how they-”  
Patton interrupted Logan. “If you win one game, can I get a big frog?” Roman laughed at how wide Patton’s eyes had grown.   
“Sure, Pattycakes. You can get the biggest frog they have.”   
Logan mumbled something about scams and not being listened to, but Roman noticed the entertained smile that hid in the corner of his lips.   
“Come on gang! We have a giant frog to win!”   
Much to Logan’s surprise, the frog was won. Roman’s aim in the milk bottle game was practically perfect and after a few games, Roman had earned enough tickets for Patton to go and pick out the biggest, fluffiest frog that he could see.  
“I guess I stand corrected. Good job Ro.” Logan seemed incredibly impressed.  
“What can I say? It’s what princes do.”   
“Prove me wrong or earn giant stuffed animals?” Logan teased.  
“Oh be nice to him! Roman’s my hero!” Patton said, hugging the frog.   
The three friends stood there in silence for a moment, staring at Patton’s trophy.   
“We have to take that thing on all the rides, carry him throughout the entire park now,” Logan said.  
“I can run and throw it in my car if you want. That way our hands are free.”   
Patton seemed reluctant to let go of the frog, but he agreed nonetheless and let Roman drop off the giant stuffed animal.  
When he came back, he immediately jumped up and asked what they wanted to do next. Patton wanted to go and try all the carnival food, but Logan suggested they save that for last so that they could ride the rides and not risk getting sick. When Logan mentioned this, Roman made a disgusted face but they all agreed that Logan was right.   
The three held hands, skipping (Patton’s suggestion) to the rides and laughing as Roman almost tripped over his own feet.

* * *

  
Virgil felt a knot of nerves become tighter as he saw his mom. She wouldn’t even look at him, so at least he didn’t have to worry about making eye contact with her. Uncle Thomas was nearby if Virgil needed anything, Thomas had made that crystal clear. But Virgil wanted to do this alone, not leaning on anyone. He wanted to prove to his mom that he didn’t need anyone, least of all her. But secretly, he was glad when Janus reached over and grabbed his hand under the table.

* * *

  
Logan thought he was going to be sick from all the sugary snacks he had eaten in a short period of time. He was grateful that Roman was exhausted and Patton was stuffed, because that meant he got to go home and rest. He pulled his phone and checked it for messages, still nothing.   
Logan wanted to curse. He was worried. He shoved his phone back into his pocket and followed his friends to the car.   
Roman turned around and watched as Logan trudged behind before walking to his friend and laying an arm across Logan’s shoulders.  
“He’s fine. You’d know if something was wrong.”   
“How did you know I was thinking about that?”  
“Because I know you. You don’t worry about much specs, you’re thoughtful and realistic. It worries me how this whole thing has messed with you.”   
“I just care a lot about Virgil. His m-, Victoria has hurt a lot of people, especially Virgil.”   
Patton piped in quietly. “And Janus. I’ve been doing my best to stay distracted all day. But I know they’re fine. Janus can take care of himself and would never let Virgil get overwhelmed. Plus, Thomas is there.” Patton slipped his hand in Logan’s.   
“Yeah, you have nothing to worry about. And if something happens, then I’ll personally go and deck Victoria for all of you,” Roman said. Logan smiled a little at that and Patton full on snorted.  
“I’d pay to see that,” Logan said.  
“How about we get dinner and then stop by the courthouse to see if they’re still there?” Patton suggested.   
“Yeah!” Roman shouted. “Pleasantly surprise them and if they’re not there, then we’ll know that they’re at home resting after a stressful trial.”   
Logan smiled and hugged his friends. “You guys are awesome. Come on, let’s go ‘pleasantly surprise’ them.”   
The three loaded up in the car, Patton sitting in the back with his new best friend, the stuffed frog.  
“What are you going to name them?” Roman asked.  
“I want to name them RoRo, after my hero,” Patton said, hugging the frog and grinning widely at his friend in the mirror. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!  
> Sorry I've been MIA recently. Mental health has been a difficult thing for me. Plus, I've got a new hyperfixation, so finding the will to write Sanders Sides has been pretty much non-existant. But I totally plan on finishing this story, I'm so proud of it.   
> Also, if you haven't noticed, this is now a series. I plan to add a few mini stories to it. There's already one about Janus, and his dad. Go read it if you haven't already!  
> And one more thing, I've changed my tumblr url. It's now @dinosaurs-last-day. Feel free to hmu there if you want to chat or have a question. Or if you see a typo!   
> Thank you all for being so patient and supportive! It means the world to me!  
> Much love and much more gratitude,  
> Turtle


End file.
